Mass Effect: Fighting of the Reapers
by judodave
Summary: After the battle on the Collector base Sheppard proves that the Reapers exist to the council but now with Harbinger's inpending arrival he needs a bigger team and an alliance between the council races. Earthborn War Hero Male Shepard Being Rewritten.
1. Setting the stage

Jason Sheppard looked over the scimitics for Harbinger for what felt like the hundredth time, ever since the battle against The Collectors and his departure from Cerberus he had been planning on presenting the information on the Reaper to the Council but considering how far the Citadel was from the Omega system they had been travelling for days.

_Still can't believe Mordin happened across the plans on his way back to the Normandy._ Sheppard thought. _Of all the places to keep plans for a Reaper I'd hardly consider a base for my pawns as an adequate place._

"Commander, we will be landing on the Citadel shortly." EDI, the ship's artificial intelligence, told him.

"Thanks EDI, tell Tali and Garrus to meet me at the airlock." Sheppard replied getting up from his chair in his quarters, he took the time to quickly fed the fish before going down in the elevator and sure enough the Quarian and Turian where at the airlock.

"So we're finally going to show the council how foolish they where to dismiss the Reapers." Garrus said matter-of-factly.

"They'd better believe us, I may not have trusted Legion but he didn't deserve to die the way he did." Tali added.

"I understand Tali but with this evidence they won't be able to deny the Reapers exist even longer." Sheppard replied.

"By the way, you did message Anderson about the visit right?" Garrus asked as they got of the Normandy SR2 and onto Zakara ward.

"Of course I did." Sheppard said, they didn't bother going through the scanners instead they went straight for the nearest Rapid Transit and went to the Pessidium and the Human Embassy, they opened the door and Anderson was there to great his old friend.

"Sheppard, it's good to see you." Councillor Anderson greeted the first human SPECTRE. "Let's get down to business, you said in the message that you where going to prove the council wrong."

"Yes, have a look at this." Sheppard handed over the datapad to the war hero and human councillor and watched as the look on his face went from curious to shock.

"Commander, is this what I think it is?" Anderson said eventually.

"Yes, it's the plans for a Reaper that a team member retrieved from the Collector Base." If he wasn't shocked before he was now.

"Did you say Collector base? You mean you went through the Omega 4 Relay and survived?" Sheppard simply nodded. "This is big Sheppard; I'll call an emergency meeting with the other council members immediately."

"You'll what?" An all too familiar voice came from behind Sheppard and his crew, they turned around and saw Donald Udina, the former Human Ambassador turned assistant to Councillor Anderson. It was then that he noticed Sheppard. "Commander Sheppard, what an unpleasant surprise."

"It's nice to see you too Udina." Sheppard replied plainly.

"What's this about a meeting with the council?" Udina asked ignoring Sheppard. Anderson handed him the datapad, Udina did a double take and once he confirmed that he wasn't seeing things he looked up. "I see, I definitely agree that this is an appropriate step." Udina said before leaving.

Soon the holograms of the three other council members appeared. The Asari council member spoke first.

"Commander Sheppard, somehow I knew this meeting would be about you." The Asari councillor said.

"What is it about this time?" The Turian councillor asked.

"Proof that not only do the Reapers exist but they are a very real threat." Sheppard said as Tali forwarded the data to the councillors.

"Talking about Reapers again Sheppard? Why should we believe a Cerberus operative?" The Salarian council member said not bothering to look at the data.

"Well for one thing, I quit Cerberus several days ago." If the Salarian council member was a human he'd be blushing right now, instead he simply lowered his head.

"That is good news commander; I'd hate to imagine the press if word somehow got out that the first Human SPECTRE joined an avowed enemy of the council." The Asari council member said finally looking at the data, after several minutes they looked up looking shocked.

"Sheppard, are these plans for a Reaper?" The Turian council member asked.

"Yes they are, taken from the Collector Base to boot."

"Did you say Collector base? You mean...."

"Yes, I went through the Omega 4 Relay." Sheppard cut off the Turian councillor much to his annoyance.

"Why would the Collectors have plans for a Reaper in their base?" The Salarian council member asked bringing up a topic that neither Sheppard nor his team where looking forward to revisiting.

"Whilst me and a small squad where exploring the Collector base we discovered that the Collectors where using the kidnapped colonists to construct a Human Reaper." Sheppard looked around the council members, each looked even more shocked by this.

"Do you have any idea how they constructed it?" Anderson asked.

"The exact details are unknown."

"In what way did they use the colonists? Are you talking about Slave Labour?" The Turian council asked. Sheppard sighed remembering how Lilith died.

"Far worse than slave labour, I don't know the exact details but imagine the worst physical pain that you know off times a thousand." Sheppard paused. "I witnessed it happen to a Colonist; she was melted down and absorbed into the Reaper through tubes, whilst alive and conscious."

"By the goddess...." The Asari council member whispered pretty much echoing the thoughts of the other members.

"What your saying is that since they where building a Reaper in the base it stands to reason that they where given something to work with, The Reaper plans." Anderson said.

"Exactly." Sheppard replied.

"As a result of this development we fully reinstate you as a SPECTRE; however I believe you will need a bigger team than the one you already have." The Turian council member replied.

"I'm honoured councillor but are you sure? I recruited a rather large team during the preparation for the Collector fight and only lost one member."

"We will publically honour the memory of that brave soul....."

"Not a good idea." Tali interrupted the council member.

"And you are?"

"She's Tali, the Quarien who helped me convict Saren two years ago, and she's right for one reason. The squad member was a Geth."

"Point well taken and I won't ask why you recruited a Geth, as I was saying we say you need a bigger team because compared to the Reapers the Collectors are Ants." The Asari continued.

"I'll compile a list of solders, scientists, mercenaries whoever and chose only the best and forward the information to your ship commander." Anderson added.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

After that the meeting ended and the Sheppard and the two squad members returned to the ship.

"How did it go?" Jacob Taylor asked greeting them near the Airlock.

"Perfectly, they've fully reinstated my SPECTRE status and gave me the mission to investigate The Reapers; they've also given me dossiers so that we can be adequately prepared."

"Good, at least we'll have company." Sheppard went to the elevator and went up to his quarters and sat at his desk and looked over the files.

_General Marcus Resoltio_

_-20+ years of combat experience_

_-Has won many medals for his service to the Alliance._

_-Expert Strategist_

_-Renowned for ability to bring the best out of his squad._

_An Alliance veteran and current head of the security force for the rebuilt Mindoir colony, has been informed about Sheppard ahead of time and knows to expect you._

"Anderson thinks of everything." Sheppard chuckled; the next one was for his former teammate Ashley Williams but he moved to the next one after that.

_Urdnot Drakus_

_-Krogan Battlemaster_

_-Rumoured Protégé of Urdnot Wrex_

_-Fought in the Krogan Rebellions._

_-Expert Biotic._

_Little is known about Drakus despite his long life and service in the Krogan Millitary, recently retired from combat and is living the last days of his life on Tuchanka._

"Another Krogan." Sheppard observed. "If this guy was mentored by Wrex he maybe the next best thing to getting Wrex back on my squad." The next one was for Liara but getting her back would be a bigger challenge than Williams due to her war with the Shadow Broker and so he decided to recruit her last.

_Private Jenny McKansa_

_-Private with huge potential._

_-Good marksman and biotic._

_-Drive to be the best._

_-Note: Criminal Record, joined Alliance to avoid prosecution for Drug Possession when offered chance._

_A young private and a member of Resoltio's squad on Mindoir, known for sense of humour and drive to be the best, has criminal history but it was mostly misdemeanours up until the Drug Charge._

"I didn't realise the offered military service to Criminals, even if she was small time." Sheppard mused. "It must've started after I died, never thought I'd say that." He said with a slight chuckle.

"Commander, that's all the dossiers for now, Anderson says there's more on the way though." Joker said over the intercom.

"Thanks Joker, which location is closest?"

"That would be Mindoir where we can recruit the General and the Rookie." Joker answered.

"Good, go there then."

"ETA is two hours."

Sheppard returned to the CIC and went to the Galaxy map, after two hours they entered the System with Mindoir in it.

"Commander, something's wrong, I'm picking up a distress signal from the planet's service." Joker said.

"Great, is there any recording to go with it?

"Yeah, I'll play it now."

"This is Private Jenny McKansa of the Mindoir security force, we are under attack by what looks like The Blue Suns mercenary group." A female Scottish accent said, obviously from the recording. "Please help, most of the colonists are dead and I'm cut off from the rest of the force." Sheppard sighed, this was sounding all to familiar.

"Tell Taylor and Missani to meet me at the Shuttle." Sheppard said plainly. "I've got a bad feeling about this."


	2. Mindoir

Sheppard, Zeead and Jacob had just landed on Mindoir, it was deserted save for a handful of dead colonists.

"McKansa wasn't kidding in the message." Zeead observed. Sheppard looked around and felt disgust as he saw the bodies of young children as well as the adults. "What the hell is Vido up too? I told you we should've killed him on Zorya."

"This isn't the time Zeead, and I promise you if he is here I'll let you finish him off." Sheppard reassured him. "For now let's focus on finding General Resoltio and Private McKansa."

"Yeah, provided they have not been killed already, also am I the only one who thinks this is odd? Raiding colonies isn't the Blue Suns' MO." Jacob replied.

"Now that you mention it, yeah this is odd behaviour for my old pals." Zeead realised. Before he could continue a Batarian wearing a Blue Suns uniform came flying out of a nearby store window. He died soon after due to a stray piece of glass slicing his throat open causing him to bleed out.

"That looked like a Biotic Attack; there are no gunshot wounds on the victim." Sheppard observed.

"You bitch!" A Batarian voice came from inside the shop "I'll personally make sure you pay for that!"

"Good luck with that." The female voice from the recording said before two shots where fired.

"It looks like we found one of the targets." Zeead muttered as they looked in the store window, inside a young redhead, no older than 18, with shoulder length hair and wearing an Army uniform was standing over a fresh Batarian corpse a single standard issue pistol in hand, the remaining Batarian drew a gun on her but Sheppard put him down with a Gunshot wound to the head catching the redhead's attention.

"Jenny McKansa?" Jacob asked.

"Aye and you are?" She asked putting her gun away.

"I'm Commander Sheppard, this is Jacob Taylor and Zeead Massani, and my ship got your distress beacon." Sheppard replied causing the young solder to ease up.

"Commander Sheppard? You mean you're the first human SPECTRE? It looks like the rumours of your demise where greatly exaggerated." She said with a quick Salute.

"At ease, what happened here?" Sheppard asked as she left the store.

"I was patrolling this area when the attack hit, shortly before that I lost contact with the rest of the Security Force, I'm thinking it's some kind of jamming signal, I saw a Mantis Gunship land on the other side of town and everything went to hell since then. I went into the store as that's were the backup beacon was kept."

"How did the jamming device not affect the beacon?" Jacob asked.

"Don't ask me, I'm no tech expert, if I had to guess though I'd say the signal was only designed to jam communications and not Beacons."

"We'll need to shut off the beacon."

"Did it already, I saw your shuttle land from the backroom." Jenny answered.

"What did the Batarians want with you?" Zeead asked.

"They didn't outright say it but it was clear that they wanted to force themselves on me before killing me, or worse, you can see how well that turned out for them." Jenny replied.

"Did you see General Resoltio before you lost contact?" Sheppard asked and she shook her head.

"He's stationed on the other side of town." She said. "So is the rest of the squad."

"He stationed you away from the others?" Jacob asked.

"I literally only joined the Squad last week, I was stationed here so I could gain valuable experience in protocol and shit like that, this is a quiet neighbourhood anyway so the most trouble I usually get is either drunk teenagers or graffiti artists."

"Makes sense, a unit is only as strong as its weakest link after all." Jacob muttered.

"Don't remind me." Jenny muttered under her breath rolling her eyes.

"We need to find the General; do you have any idea where exactly he was stationed?" Zeead asked.

"Sure, and I suppose you want me to lead the way?" Sheppard nodded and she lead them to the location, they only encountered two more bands of Blue Suns mercs before reaching the landing zone, there eyes narrowed the moment they saw the cages with colonists in them, Jenny went for her pistol but Zeead stopped her.

"Won't do you much good kid, you're outnumbered 50 to one not counting anyone on the gunship." Zeead said.

"So you expect me to watch as these bastards take away the colonists?" Jenny asked annoyed.

"Zeead's right, we need a plan of attack." Jacob added, minutes later an all too familiar face emerged from the ship.

"Come on men, we don't have all day!" Vido Santiago, leader of the Blue Suns and the man at the top of Zeead's most hates list, yelled at the Blue Suns mercs. "We have maybe five minutes before more alliance troops arrive to back up the ones we killed and I want to be out of here before......"

"**VIDO!!" **Zeead shouted out breaking the squad's cover and interrupting his old rival midsentence but he didn't care, Zeead quickly shot Vido in the leg before he could activate his shields and Vido fired of some shots off his own, the rest of the Blue Suns started firing at Zeead.

"That's our cue people." Sheppard said and he, Jacob and Jenny drew there weapons, the battle lasted a few minutes with Jenny and Jacob using they're biotics effectively, eventually the Blue Suns Mercenaries where killed leaving only the leader.

"Time to repay your debt Vido and this time there's no way in hell you're escaping." Zeead said drawing his assault riffle.

"I don't think so Massani, there's a bomb on the Gunship that will go off the instant my heart stops and guess where the majority of the colonists are?"

"You sadistic son of a bitch, what's to stop us from freeing them?" Jacob said angrily.

"Do and I'll gun down each and....." Vido never finished as he was thrown against a wall by Jenny's biotics.

"You son of a bitch, I should kill you right now....."

"But you won't, you care too much about the damn colonists to finish the job." Jenny glared daggers at him but dropped the biotic field.

"Good, then I'll be on my way with my prize......"

"I don't think so." An Italian-American accent rang out that Jenny quickly recognised. They turned around and saw an old but muscular man in an Army uniform, well armed and with plenty of medals on his chest.

"General Resoltio I assume." Sheppard greeted the man.

"Yeah, and you must be Commander Sheppard, it's an honour to finally meet the hero of the Citadel." Marcus greeted shaking the commander's hand.

"What are you going to do about it old man....." He wasn't interrupted but instead he stopped talking as he saw the freed colonists flee the ship, Vido drew his gun but Jacob suspended him in midair with his Pull ability.

"Zeead, would you care to do the honours?" Sheppard asked with a grin.

"My pleasure Sheppard, rot in hell you son of a bitch!" Zeead said before pulling the trigger shooting the Blue Suns leader in the stomach, Jacob dropped the Pull field and Vido's body fell.

"Now then Sheppard, I here your recruiting me and Jenny for a misson." Jenny blinked in surprise.

"What? That's the first I've heard of it." Jenny said slightly annoyed.

"Sorry, wanted to make sure the General was alive first, nothing personal." Sheppard answered. "What do you two know about The Reapers?"

"That myth the council dismissed?" Jenny said folding her arms.

"Let's just say that they can't deny it anymore, I proved the Reapers exist to the Council that's why I'm recruiting you both, whilst I have a large crew already I'll need skill, determination and experience to defeat The Reapers, among other things."

"Sheppard, I'm just as sceptical as Private McKansa I'll probably never get an opportunity to work with a Spectre again, I gladly accept your offer."

"What about the kid?"

"The name's Jenny and if the General's joining I'll join up with this team."

"Glad to here it." Sheppard said turning around not noticing a very much alive Vido aim his gun at Zeead as he knelt down for some reason, but Jenny did.

"Get down." Jenny said shoving just say Vido fired hitting her in the leg; Zeead turned around abruptly and finished Vido off with a shot to the head.

"Normandy, get ready for pickup and have a medbay standing by."

"Aye, aye commander, the shuttle should be there shortly." Joker replied, the shuttle landed near them a few minutes later and they got on it as Jacob applied Medigel to Jenny's leg, a couple of hours later Sheppard was in the com room talking to the council via the com link.

"I understand that you where able to successfully recruit two of the solders suggested by Anderson Commander." The Asari said.

"Yes, though McKansa was injured in the process, she's in the medical bay as we speak." Sheppard added. "The Blue Suns where also there attempting a Slave Raid, thankfully I got there in time and stopped it."

"Indeed Commander." The Salarian council member said.

"Apart from the injury how well are the new recruits settling in?" Anderson asked.

"I'd say there settling in well, also I'm planning on going to Tuchanka next in order to recruit Drakus." Sheppard added.

"Good choice, anyone with his experience will be an asset to the team." The Turian replied before the council cut off.

"Nice ship you got here Sheppard." Sheppard turned around and saw General Resoltio.

"I certainly think so, how's Private McKansa doing?" Sheppard asked.

"Dr. Chakwas said that she was lucky, if the bullet hit her leg a little higher she would've bled out on the shuttle." Resoltio replied. "What's the plan now?"

"We're heading to Tuchanka to recruit a Krogan battlemaster." Sheppard said plainly.

"Good, always wanted to go there." Resoltio said sarcasticly.

"Yeah it's a nice place; you should definitely try fighting a Thrasher Maw on foot." The two men shared a laugh.

"Sounds fun, I don't know how long it'll be before McKansa's back on her feet so you may not be able to take her there."

"Take me where?" Jenny asked as she entered the room still limping from the gunshot wound.

"Tuchanka, we're recruiting a Krogan next." He told her.

"That sounds good." She shrugged.

"How's the leg?"

"Hurts like a bitch and I've got a limp but other than that I'm fine." Jenny sighed before leaving the room to look around the rest of the ship.

"She's a good kid but she can still handle herself in battle." General Resoltio said.

"Speaking of her, I wasn't aware that the Alliance was recruiting criminals." Sheppard said.

"Actually it's a recent development, you heard of the Sheppard Scholarship?" Marcus asked.

"Of course I have, they've been talking about it on the news, I set it up to help kids in similar situations to mine when I was growing up." Sheppard said.

"She's one of the first to graduate from boot camp as a result of the program, she was in a gang in Edinburgh, Scotland for most of her life before the gang was busted, all the kids in the gang where offered a chance to turn there lives around or face prison and Jenny was the only one to except."

"Was it because of the Drug Possession charge?"

"That was one of the reasons, she claimed the Heelix we found on her was stolen from some guy on the street but she didn't get his face so there was no one to collaborate her story, the man reason, and this her words not mine, was that she was sick and fucking tired of gang life but loved the thrill of a fight to much to get a desk job so the Alliance membership was offered and she jumped at the chance."

"Don't blame her; Drug Possession's a serious crime." Sheppard shook his head.

"Anyway I'll be helping Jacob in the armoury if you need me, Jenny will probably go down to the crew deck, if you need either of us don't heisitate to look there." Marcus said leaving the room.

"And if you're having any problems remember that my door's always open." Sheppard called after him and he left, he left the room bumping into Garrus.

"Hey Sheppard, you got a minute?"

"Sure Garrus, what do you need?"

"It's that new recruit Jenny McKansa, she's been acting hostile to me, not in a violent way but by giving me death glares, I'd do something about it but whenever I tried talking to her she avoids me."

"Maybe she lost family in First Contact."

"That's a possibility but she's far too young to remember that." Garrus shook his head. "I doubt she's Xenophobic either, I saw her talking to Thane, Samara, Tali and even Grunt casually, as casually as one can talk to a 7ft foot tall Super Krogan who loves fighting and screaming out his species name in battle but that's beside the point."

"I'll talk to her and see what the problem is, how is the Thanix Gun holding up since the battle?"

"Beautifully, it didn't suffer any damage so it was the one area of the ship that didn't need repairs, speaking of which I'd better return to the forward batteries." Garrus left and Sheppard sighed.

"Barely five minutes as a member of the Normandy crew and she's already caused trouble for herself." Sheppard sighed before going down to the Crew deck, he saw Jenny sitting at the table in the mess hall as Rupert prepared some food, and Sheppard took a seat opposite her.

"Commander, I didn't expect to see you down here." Jenny said.

"Want anything Commander?" Rupert called over.

"Not that hungry thanks, just give me something light." Sheppard replied.

"You got it." Sheppard turned his attention to Jenny.

"Garrus told me you've been acting hostile to him and avoiding him whenever he tried to ask why." Sheppard said and she winced.

"I should've known this would come up." Jenny said with a sigh. "It's complicated okay?"

"Not good enough, when you signed onto this mission you signed on to work with the crew and like it or not Garrus is part of the crew." Jenny sighed.

"I've got nothing against Garrus okay, he seems like a nice guy, Turian, whatever, but my family's been mistrustful of Turians for as long as I can remember."

"Is it because of First Contact?" Sheppard asked.

"That's part of it; you know how the Williams family name is pretty much dirt as far as the Alliance goes right?"

"Yeah, I had a Williams on my last crew. What does that have to do with it?"

"Getting to that part, compared to my family they have it easy, at least they don't have to join the Alliance through a Scholarship, my great grandfather, Robert McKansa, betrayed the Alliance to the Turians during first contact."

"I never heard of that story."

"That's because it's not that well known, in exchange for some credits he told them where General Williams and his squad where located and he was found out pretty quickly as his partners sold him out when the Council intervened." Jenny said shaking her head. "After that my family was barred from joining the Alliance even after his death, hell if it wasn't for the Scholarship I'd still be on Earth, but my family is one of fighters, that's why before that the McKansa's where a military family."

"What I don't get is how the Scholarship managed to surpass you're family's barring." She actually chuckled at that.

"It wasn't easy; the Alliance recruiter that found me had to campaign day and night just to get the Scholarship to accept me, hell I had to give them a report on how I wasn't at all like my Grandfather in order for them to accept me."

"It obviously worked." Sheppard said.

"Yeah, my dad was so proud when I joined the Alliance." She smirked. "He made sure that I would push myself to be the best of the best, which is also why I hate my rookie status."

"Well to be fare you are a recent recruit."

"True enough, if it wasn't for the scholarship I would've quit the gang."

"And you joined that gang back on Earth to compensate, any brothers or sisters?"

"One brother, he joined the Eclipse Mercenary gang and that was the last I heard of him, my sisters are still in gangs and me? Well that's pretty obvious."

"So the reason you don't trust me is because of a mistake your grandfather made." Garrus said surprising both of them.

"How long have you stood there?" Sheppard asked.

"Long enough, look McKansa I can't explain why those Turians sold out you Grandfather as a traitor but don't let it affect the mission or the working relationship we'll inevitably have."

"Guess your right Garrus, sorry for, well, being a jackass towards you." She said as Rupert brought over the food.

"Don't mention it; I understand your reasons behind it." Garrus replied before turning to Rupert. "Rupert, are you any good at Turian food."

"Never tried making it but I'll try." Rupert replied.

"Commander, two more Dossiers where just submitted by Anderson." Joker's voice called.

"I'll look at them once I've eaten Joker, thanks." Sheppard said. "And plot a course for Tuchanka, we've got a Krogan to recruit."

"Aye, aye commander, ETA 3 and half hours."


	3. Tuchanka

Sheppard leaned back in his chair as he waited for the new dossiers from Anderson to load, as far as he could tell Jenny and Garrus where getting along and whilst he couldn't blame her for her mistrust given her family's history with the Turians the last thing he needed was internal conflicts. The dossiers loaded and he looked at them.

_La Sombre (real name unknown)_

_-Master thief_

_-Incredibly acrobatic_

_-Vast knowledge of technology_

_-Known for mysterious ability to disappear and reappear at will._

_Little is known about La Sombre, he was born on Earth to a poor family in Madrid, Spain, has stolen priceless artwork all over the galaxy and is at the top of the Citadel Council's Most Wanted List, many SPECTRES have been employed to take him down but all have failed, rumour has it that he is planning a heist on Illium next. Council is willing to wipe his record clean in exchange for his cooperation._

"Did Anderson just recommend a thief?" Sheppard thought shaking his head. "If he's as good as the file says he is than he will come in handy." He thought out loud as he read the next one only to realise he knew him already.

_Lantar Sidonis_

_-Former C-SEC officer_

_-Extremely knowledgeable about firearms_

_-Served in Archangel's Mercenary squad on Omega_

_-Mental issues being treated by C-SEC._

_Note: me and the other members of the council are well aware of Garrus' personal history with Sidonis but with the Reaper war coming up we need the best of the best and Sidonis was one of the best marksman during his time at C-SEC, he is still on the Citadel being treated for mental issues stemming from the betrayal of his team._

"This might be a problem." Sheppard thought out loud, he had let Sidonis live during Garrus' loyalty mission as he realized how deeply troubled he was and that he didn't betray his teammates by choice, he went over to the intercom. "Garrus, I need to see you urgently. Come to my quarters as soon as possible."

Garrus arrived a few minutes later looking confused as to why he had been called.

"Sheppard, as much as I appreciate the invitation was it necessary to bring me up here?" Garrus asked confused.

"Yes, because it's a private matter for you, how are you and McKansa getting along by the way?"

"Can't complain, mistrust is still there but at least she's willing to talk now." Garrus sighed. Sheppard showed him the second e-mail from Anderson and Garrus' eyes narrowed.

"I see, is this some kind of sick joke by Anderson?" Garrus asked.

"I doubt it, besides you've seen his combat skills for yourself right."

"True, he is an excellent shot and his years of experience in C-SEC helped but for obvious reasons I won't be able to trust him." Garrus sighed. "Recruit him if you want and I'll try to get along with him, no guarantee it will work but his skills we definitely be an asset to the team though." Garrus left the room after that.

"Commander, we have just entered the Krogan DMZ, we should be on Tuchanka in a few minutes." Joker said over the intercom.

"Good, tell Grunt and McKansa to meet me at the shuttle." Sheppard replied getting up from his private terminal and leaving his quarters, a few minutes later and he, Grunt and Jenny was in the shuttle on the way down to Tuchanka.

"So what do we know about this Drakus guy?" Jenny asked.

"Not much, he fought in the Rebellions, he's a rumored protege of Wrex and he's a battlemaster." Sheppard replied.

"I don't care, as long as we get some killing done on the way to him." Grunt added, the shuttle landed on the planet and the three of them stepped out and was greeted by the overcaptain.

"Sheppard, Wrex was informed of your arrival ten minutes ago, he requests that you see him immediately." The Krogan told him.

"Sure, same place as before?" The krogan nodded and the three of them went through the doors and up to the area where Wrex was sat, the clan leader looked up at Sheppard as he and his crew arrived and grinned, or at least Sheppard thought he grinned he couldn't tell.

"Sheppard, I hope you're keeping your skills sharp, especially you Grunt."

"Would you count fighting the Collectors on the home turf as keeping my skills sharp?"

"Touché, I understand your here to find Urdnot Drakus." The clanleader said.

"That's right; do you know where we can find him?" Sheppard asked.

"If I knew that you wouldn't have to look far to find him, he's been missing for the past two weeks." Wrex replied.

"Okay, who was the last one to see him?" Sheppard asked.

"The ambassador for Clan Clesstet, she's here on important business." Wrex said.

"Where can we find her?" Sheppard asked.

"She was speaking to the Shaman last I heard, and he's still in the same place that you saw him last." Wrex said. "So I here the council finally got they're heads out of there asses and saw the Reaper threat."

"Not the way I would've put it but yeah, I showed them the evidence and they couldn't deny it anymore." Sheppard said. "I've been tasked with getting an even larger group than before which is why I'm here for Drakus."

"I take it the young human is your latest recruit?" Wrex said motioning to Jenny.

"She's one of them." Sheppard said.

"Well Sheppard, I'd like to chat with you but I've got matters to attend to."

"Actually about Drakus, you sure he didn't go off world?" Jenny chimed in.

"That was one of the first things we considered, but no ships have left Tuchanka since he was last seen, here or at any of the other clans." Wrex replied.

"So he's still on Tuchanka." Sheppard replied.

"Pretty much."

"What about Clan Clesstet? That an all female clan?"

"Yeah, and they haven't exactly been on speaking terms since Grunt's Right Of Passage." Wrex replied.

"Why's that? Same reason Uvenk was against it?" Sheppard asked and Wrex shook his head.

"No, hell the breeding requests for Grunt where all from Clesstet, Clesstet and Gatavog had a close relationship and where going to join Urdnot together but Uvenk's death put a halt to that." Wrex replied.

"How close we're talking?" Jenny asked.

"Close enough that the leaders of the two clans where in love and Uvenk was the leader of Clan Gatavog, so don't expect a warm welcome from the Clesstet Ambassador." Sheppard winced knowing this wouldn't be easy. He motioned for Grunt and Jenny to follow him and they did and they went to where the shaman was and saw him talking with the Clesstet Ambassador. They approached him but the guards stopped them.

"It'll be unwise to interrupt them human." The guard said.

"Why's that?" Grunt asked.

"The Clesstet Ambassador isn't exactly welcoming of humans." The guard said motioning to the Female Krogan who bore the jet black colours of her tribe. "Though Grunt may get her attention, he did kill the Thrasher Maw after all."

"I am done talking to you Shaman; I have to report back to......Sheppard." The female Krogan's eyes narrowed as she saw the SPECTRE.

"Have we met?" Sheppard said.

"No but I know you by reputation, you destroyed the Genophage cure, got a Tank Bred accepted into Clan Urdnot and ruined Clan Gatavog. Why do you want to see me?"

"Because you where the last person to see Urdnot Drakus alive and we want to know where he is." Jenny said limping forward trying not to appear weak.

"I wasn't talking to you child and I'd watch who you talk to with an injury like that if I where you." The Ambassador warned Jenny. "Humans aren't typically welcome here and Sheppard's likely the only reason you're still alive."

"I can hold my own in a fight." Jenny countered back.

"Whatever child, so Sheppard you want to know the location of Drakus right?" Sheppard nodded. "I last saw the old bastard near the ruins of Clan Weyrlock, it isn't much but it'll do for now."

"Why are you helping me? I'm the one who killed you're clan leader's lover." Sheppard asked confused.

"Despite all of that Drakus is a veteran and a warrior, someone with his experience demands respect even from clans who want Wrex dead." The Ambassador said before walking off.

"So what do we do now?" Grunt asked.

"We see if the Scout still has that Truck handy and if so we take it to Clan Weyrlock's former base and see if he's still there, Jenny we may encounter resistance, whether from the wildlife or any Blood Pack mercenaries looking for salvage, are you going to be okay fighting with your injury?"

"I'll be fine Sheppard, my leg's not as bad as it was when we talking on the Normandy." Jenny reassured him but could tell that he was having doubts. "If you're that concerned send me back to the Normandy and get someone else to take my place."

"If you're sure about your injury then you're staying with us." Sheppard said plainly. "Just be careful with your injury."

"Easier said then done." Jenny muttered as they left the Shaman's location and went to the chief scout; he was looking over a report when Sheppard walked over to him.

"Sheppard, you'd better make it quick I've got every scout on the lookout for Drakus." The Chief Scout said upon seeing Sheppard.

"Well in that case I've got good news for you; we're helping in the search." Sheppard replied.

"Let me guess, you got your Intel from the Clesstet Ambassador? She's been sending my scouts out towards the grounds near where her clan is stationed and they haven't found Drakus there."

"Really, because she suggested we look at the abandoned Weyrlock base." Jenny replied.

"Huh, guess she has more faith in you then in my scouts, I've been suggesting the old Weyrlock base as the place where Drakus is but it's been falling on deaf ears, if you want to use the truck go ahead it's just been refueled."

"What's near the Clan Clesstet base?" Jenny asked.

"Apart from the area Clesstet uses for they're Right of Passage? Not much, there's an old military base there that dates back to the Krogan Rebellions but that place is crawling with Wild Varren, even heard rumors that there's a Thrasher Maw nest on the grounds which is why I've advised my scouts to not go there." The Chief Scout replied.

"Why did was it suggested by the ambassador then?" Sheppard asked.

"Hell if I know, apparently Drakus used it as a base of operations during the Rebellions but apart from that there's no reason to suspect it."

"Thanks, we should get going." Sheppard replied as he, Grunt and Jenny got in the truck with Sheppard driving, the drive to the old Weyrlock base took a couple of hours but they got there eventually, however Sheppard was quick to notice something was wrong.

"We've got company." Sheppard said.

"Is it Krogan?" Grunt asked.

"Yeah, all female and wearing Clesstet's colors, they don't look friendly either." Sheppard said as the three of them got out.

"Halt off worlder." The tallest of the Krogan, presumably the leader, told them.

"Where's Drakus?" Sheppard asked.

"Name doesn't ring a bell, we were told you where coming and we were given one simple order......kill all humans on sight."

"What about me?" Grunt asked.

"Including the Tank Bred abomination they brought with them."

"Well that's too bad for you then." Sheppard said as he and Jenny took cover whilst Grunt charged headfirst into the female Krogans.

"Ah Grunt, still as subtle as a Nuclear Missile being used to kill an ant." Jenny muttered to herself as she fired at the Clesstet Clan members, she killed two with a Shockwave whilst Sheppard put a bullet in another's head, Grunt meanwhile just kept charging/firing his shotgun at the rest until only the leader was left.

"It seems we underestimated you human." The leader said.

"I'm going to make this clear, tell us who you're working for or we'll empty each and every clip in our guns into your body." Sheppard warned as Jenny and Grunt readied they're weapons.

"What makes you think we're working for anyone?" The Krogan leader said defiantly.

"Let's see, we were told to come here by your ambassador to find a missing Krogan Rebellions veteran only to find an entire squad of Krogans with orders to kill us, doesn't seem that hard to figure out if you ask me." Jenny replied.

"Very well, we are keeping Urdnot Drakus in that building, Clan Clesstet was going to send him in as a Hostage and whilst Urdnot was distracted we were going to attack Clan Urdnot." The leader said.

"Whose idea was it?" Grunt asked.

"The ambassador's, the clan leader is so wracked with grief over her Uvenk's death that she could not coordinate an assault like this but the ambassador's got experience on her side." The leader said.

"Jenny, Grunt, go into the building and get Drakus, I'll make sure the leader doesn't try any funny business." Sheppard told them and they obeyed, minutes later an old Krogan emerged from the building with Jenny and Grunt alongside him.

"Urdnot Drakus I assume?" Sheppard greeted him.

"Yes, and you must be Sheppard, Wrex has spoken highly of you." Drakus greeted him with a shake of his hand. "This wasn't necessary though, I was planning my escape when the Tank Bred and the Human came looking for me."

"Call it a favor, besides I need you for a mission of Galactic importance." Drakus chuckled.

"Retirement bored me anyway, I will gladly join you Sheppard." Drakus said. "Now come on, whose up for teaching the Clesstet ambassador a lesson she won't forget?"

"I here that." Jenny said with a grin, they got back in the truck and traveled back to Clan Urdnot's base where the ambassador for Clesstet was in talks with Wrex, Sheppard, Jenny and Grunt stormed up to them.

"You can not disturb the clan leader, he is....." Sheppard shoved the guard away.

"As I was saying Wrex we need to talk about a truce between our clans......"

"So you can attack Urdnot?" Jenny interrupted her.

"What is this?" Wrex demanded.

"Wrex, we found Drakus, Clan Clesstet was keeping him prisoner and was planning to use him as a distraction whilst they attacked you." Sheppard replied.

"An interesting tale but what proof do you have?" The ambassador demanded.

"I'm all the proof Sheppard needs." Drakus said joining the SPECTRE and his squad mates. The ambassador was at a loss for words.

"I can explain.....I," Jenny cut her off.

"I can do the explaining for you, you where angry at Sheppard and Grunt because they killed you're clan leader's lover and you lured us into a trap to get rid off us."

"Sheppard and his allies are allies of Clan Urdnot, this is treason, and Clan Clesstet is no longer welcome here." Wrex said glaring at the Ambassador.

"Oh yeah, there's another thing." Jenny said head butting the ambassador. "That's for all the bullshit you put us through." Wrex and Drakus laughed.

"I like this human already." Drakus exclaimed.

The ambassador quickly recovered and begrudgingly left glaring at a smirking Jenny.

"Wrex, I'm leaving with Sheppard, retirement was too boring for this old Krogan." Drakus told them.

"You have my blessing Drakus, may your enemies be strong so that they keep your skills sharp." Wrex said as the four of them left, as they neared the shuttle Jenny turned to Sheppard.

"Shep, do me a favour." Jenny asked.

"Sure, what's that?" Sheppard replied.

"Remind me never to headbut another Krogan for as long as I live." Jenny said holding her head in pain, Sheppard laughed.

"You got it." Sheppard replied as they got on the shuttle.


	4. Heist Hijinks

"So commander, I understand that despite some complications you're recruitment of Drakus was a success." The Asari councillor said as Sheppard was given his report on what happened on the Krogan home world.

"To be honest complications is a huge understatement, but that doesn't matter right now, what matters is we have another ally in the fight against the Reapers." Sheppard replied.

"Indeed commander, I trust you got the dossiers that Councillor Anderson forwarded?" The Salarian Councillor asked.

"You mean the ones on La Sombre and Sidonis? I read them before I left the Normandy for Tuchanka." Sheppard replied. "Garrus wasn't too happy about it given his history with Sidonis but he's willing to cooperate with Sidonis."

"I can understand why, we read the report on Sidonis and his betrayal of Vakerian's team on Omega." The Turian councillor replied.

"Speaking of recruitment commander, I've gotten word of Williams' location; she's on Omega on Alliance business." Anderson said.

"What does the Alliance want with Omega?" Sheppard asked confused.

"I was just as confused as you are when I got the report, but it appears to be accurate, what is your next move?" Anderson asked.

"The Normandy is refuelling in the Krogan DMZ at the moment but as soon as we're refuelled we're heading to Illium, I'll be on the lookout for La Sombre whilst I'm there and I'll see about recruiting Tsoni though that maybe difficult given her war with the Shadow Broker." Sheppard replied.

"True enough, if I find any more people that you maybe interested in I'll forward a dossier on them to you commander." Anderson said as the council cut off, Sheppard turned around and saw Jacob there.

"That was quite a mission down there commander, though I'll admit that it was funny seeing McKansa headbut that ambassador on the vids." Jacob said. "I'm not the only one who thought that either, the whole crew was roaring with laughter."

"True on both counts but in the end we got who we came for." Sheppard replied.

"Yeah, about that, I'm concerned that loyalty maybe an issue with the new crewmembers." Jacob said.

"What do you mean?" Sheppard asked.

"You got the existing crew's loyalty no problem, but McKansa, Resoltio and Drakus might have some unfinished business they want to get dealt with before The Reapers arrive and don't get me started on the guys we'll be picking up soon."

"So what your saying is that they're heads won't be in the game unless I help them like I helped the crew before we took the fight to The Collectors." Sheppard asked.

"Pretty much Commander, I'd better get back to my station." Jacob replied leaving the room and bumping into Yeoman Chambers on his way out. "Sorry Kelly didn't see you there."

"No worries Jacob." She replied as Jacob returned to the Amory and Kelly turned to Sheppard. "Commander, I thought you should know that Jenny appears to be distraught over a piece of news she read on the Extranet."

"Can you be more specific about the news so read?" Sheppard asked and Kelly shook her head.

"No, if you want to find that out you'd better talk to her yourself." Kelly said. "Also you have some unread messages at your terminal." Kelly said before leaving to return to her post, Sheppard went to his terminal and saw that the messages where from Wrex (who commented on how much he hated using those things) who said that Clan Clesstet had disbanded for an undisclosed reason and in the other he said that there where two more breeding requests for Grunt. The other was a message from Captain Bailey at C-SEC and it was an update on Koyat saying that Thane's son had began training at C-SEC academy, archiving the messages he went down to the crew's quarters and found Jenny pacing back and forth inside the sleeping quarters which was unoccupied.

"Chambers said something was bothering you." Sheppard said.

"You mean aside from the still limping leg?" Jenny said sitting down on the bed. "You know how I mentioned my siblings before we went to Tuchanka?"

"What about them?" Sheppard asked.

"I just got a message from Sophie, my younger sister; Kate has been accused of murdering a cop on Earth."

"Kate's your other sister?" She nodded. "Is she younger or older?"

"Technically she's neither, me, Kate and Sophie are triplets though I'm five minutes older than Kate and two minutes older than Sophie." Jenny replied.

"Do you want to be there for your sister's trial?" Sheppard asked.

"Trial's not until the end of the month." Jenny replied. "Sophie's convinced that the leader of Kate's gang has framed her for the murder though."

"What charges is Kate facing?"

"If she was living in America it would either be Death or Life without Parole, luckily the worst she'll face is Life." Jenny sighed. "Sheppard, I want to go to Earth and talk to my sister, the McKansa family maybe fighters but we draw the line at murder and I sure as hell know she didn't kill that cop."

"Wouldn't that be difficult given you're criminal past? Unless I come with you and vouch for the fact that you don't want to bust her out." Sheppard said and she smirked.

"Like I'd be stupid enough to waltz in the front door off the police station and announce that I intend to bust her out....which I don't." Jenny replied. "Thanks Sheppard, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"No problem, first we've got to pay a visit to Illium then we'll head to Earth." Sheppard said before leaving the room.

"Commander, Normandy's refuelled and we're on our way to Illium now, ETA two hours." Joker announced over the PA.

"Thanks Joker." Sheppard replied as he heard music coming from the Crew's Quarters where he had left Jenny, at first he thought it was to help her relax after hearing about her sister but then again it was Heavy Metal music she was listening too.

"Hey Sheppard, got a minute?" Sheppard turned around and saw General Resoltio.

"Sure Marcus, what do you need?" Sheppard asked.

"You know how I mentioned that Jenny enlisted in the Alliance via the Sheppard Scholarship?" Sheppard nodded. "I have a son who's in a similar situation to Jenny when she was a gang member and I'm worried that he might do something stupid, I know it's a lot to ask given our current mission but is there a chance we can stop by Earth to see if I can talk him into looking into the Scholarship?"

"Sure, we'll be heading there as a favour to Jenny anyway." Sheppard told him.

"I appreciate it Sheppard." Marcus told him. "I'd better get back to the Armoury before Jenny's taste in music causes me to lose my hearing." Sheppard laughed a bit and Marcus went back to the Elevator, Sheppard soon joined him and went up to the CIC and went up to the Galaxy Map, they arrived at Illium a few minutes later.

"Joker, tell Drakus and Marcus to meet me at the Airlock." Sheppard called to the pilot of the ship,

"You got it commander." Joker replied as he went about finding a place to dock, Marcus and Urdnot Drakus soon joined him, the old Krogan looked around the CIC as he and Marcus joined Sheppard at the airlock.

"So just to recap, on top of recruiting a notorious thief we're going to try recruiting a former teammate of yours who's waging a war against the Shadow Broker." Drakus said as they stepped on to Illium.

"That sums it up, plan is to visit Liara first and get information on La Sombre from her, after that we'll focus on Liara." Sheppard explained as they walked down the dock.

"You certainly know how to make things interesting Sheppard." Marcus commented as a news report came on.

"The Museum Of Illium has unveiled it's latest exhibit, a priceless diamond donated by an anomalous benefactor known only as CA, authorities are on the lookout for the notorious thief known only as La Sombre as rumour has it that he has his eyes set on the diamond." The news report said.

"Don't you love it when the council makes things easy for us?" Sheppard grinned instantly knowing that Councillor Anderson had assisted them, how he got his hands on the diamond was anyone's guess but he was grateful none the less.

"Of course the fact that we've got a military guy on the council and not that spineless pencil pusher known as Udina helps." Marcus replied. They went to a rapid transport terminal and made there way to the Museum which was a rather large building, as the news report said the area was surrounded by Asari, they went up to the front gate and an Asari stopped them.

"Sorry, the museum's closed until we catch La Sombre." The Asari said.

"We're here to help, I'm Commander Sheppard, a SPECTRE and I'm here on council business." The Asari looked up in surprise.

"I heard that SPECTRES had been employed to take down this guy but I was under the impression that they decided that La Sombre wasn't worth the manpower. I'll have to run it past my Commanding Officer I hope you don't mind." Sheppard shrugged.

"Take as long as you need." The Asari walked off and a few minutes late she returned with a familiar face, Officer Dara, the Asari Police Officer that had helped them during Samara's recruitment mission.

"Didn't expect to see you again Sheppard, looks like your here to help with another case." Dara said allowing the three solders in.

"Could say that, what can you tell me about the case Officer Dara?" Sheppard asked.

"Actually it's Detective Dara now; busting Elnora and Pitne For earned me a promotion." She said proudly.

"Congratulations, what are those two up to nowadays?"

"I caught Elnora a few weeks after you exposed her as the killer, she tried to get a Shuttle off world not realizing that there was a warrant for her arrest and the staff there alerted the authorities, she's currently on Death Row for murdering Pitne For's partner, Pitne For put up a fight when he was arrested and is currently serving a sentence of 25 to Life for Drug and Illegal Weapons Tech Smuggling, could've thrown in attempted bribery whilst I was at it but in the end he got what he deserved, we're also trying to convict him off Neglectful Homicide as his actions led to the death of several police officers who didn't realize what they where dealing with when they moved the nerve agent into storage." Dara explained.

"Sounds like they got what they deserved." Marcus observed.

"I couldn't agree more." Dara grinned. "Anyway the diamond's in the centre of the museum, top level security and at least a dozen armed guards standing watch over it, not like that stopped him in the past." Dara muttered.

"Thanks Dara, I'll be in radio contact if you need me." The Asari walked off and he turned to Marcus and Drakus.

"We need a plan if we're going to get La Sombre's attention." Marcus said rubbing his chin in thought. "Drakus, are you up for backing up Dara and her officers out here?"

"It'll be my pleasure." Drakus grinned.

"Right, me and Sheppard will go inside to keep a close watch on the Diamond." Marcus said.

"One problem, there's no one to keep an eye out if he enters from above and as much as I hate to admit it I can't be in two places at once." Sheppard said.

"We'll send someone from the Normandy to keep an eye out from the roof off that Skyscraper, any ideas?" Marcus asked pointing to the building in question; Sheppard rubbed his chin in thought.

"McKansa probably wants a chance to rest her leg after two missions in a row so that's her out, Grunt isn't exactly known for being subtle so he's out, Garrus is busy with the forward guns last I heard so he's out, only ones not doing anything, are fit for duty and are perfect for the job are Thane, Jack, Samara, Tali, Jacob, Miranda, Mordin and Zaeed."

"Yeah, I'm not exactly comfortably having a psychotic biotic watching my back so that's Jack out, Thane's experience would come in handy but given his hand in Nassana Dantius' murder I doubt the cops will trust him so he's out, Jacob also perfect for the job but he's busy fixing Grunt's shotgun as it jammed on him during target practice....."

"Target Practice, on what exactly?" Sheppard and Drakus asked worried.

"Dead Collectors, don't ask were he got them." Marcus shrugged. "Miranda's busy filing reports, Samara is busy helping Tali install even more fuel cells in order to make us go even further so they're both out, Mordin is working on something or another, I don't know I always fell asleep during science class so that leaves Zaeed." Marcus said.

"Better than nothing I suppose." Sheppard said putting a hand to his earpiece. "Joker, send Zaeed to meet us at the Museum Of Ilium ASAP."

"You got it commander." Joker replied. A few minutes later Zaeed came up and Sheppard let the Asari know that he was with them.

"Any particular reason you need a fourth man on this job Sheppard?" Zaeed asked confused, Sheppard told him the information and he nodded. "Right, you needs eyes in the sky as well as on the ground, I'll keep in contact with you and inform you of anything suspicious." Zaeed said before making his way to the Skyscraper.

"I'll do the same as Zaeed, just be careful with these cops, from what I've heard there's a considerable bounty on La Sombre's head, dead or alive." Drakus told them.

"Thanks for the info Drakus, Zaeed, you in position?"

"Almost, I can't climb skyscrapers in minutes." Zaeed replied.

"Roger, shall we go inside Marcus?" Sheppard asked.

"Lead the way." Marcus replied and they went into the museum. It wasn't hard to find the Diamond exhibit, there was signs posted all over the museum pointing out where it was. They reached the exhibit and saw three Turien and three Krogan guards standing by, a Turien stopped them.

"Halt, the exhibit's off limits until the matter with La Sombre is dealt with." The Turien said.

"It's your lucky day, I'm Commander Sheppard, a SPECTRE and I'm here to help." The Turien's mandibles flared in surprise.

"A SPECTRE, not often we see those out here but given La Sombre's reputation among the SPECTRES I shouldn't be surprised." The Turian guard commented with a chuckle.

"So can we go in?" Sheppard asked.

"It would help to have eyes on the diamond as well considering who we're dealing with, so go ahead." The Turian said stepping aside and the two men walked in, the diamond was large and silver in colour, Marcus glanced around the room.

"State of the art security, if only we had this on Mindoir, otherwise neither slaver attacks would've happened." Marcus shook his head.

"Be alert, Nassana Dantius had state of the art security and look at what happened to her." Sheppard replied.

"True enough." Marcus replied.

"Sheppard, this is Zaeed, do you copy?"

"Roger, what's your status?" Sheppard replied.

"Cold, tired from walking up the stares, oh yeah and I saw someone hang-glide onto the roof of the Museum." Sheppard did a double take.

"Hang-Glide? That technology's been obsolete for years! Hell it's been obsolete for centuries!" Sheppard replied.

"Yeah, I was just as surprised as you are, Drakus already knows what I saw despite me having to explain to him what a Hang-Glide is!" Zaeed added.

"Roger that Zaeed, do you have a fix on his position?"

"No, it's too dark out, though if this is La Sombre then he's probably entering the museum via the vents." Zaeed replied.

"You get that Marcus?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, I got it."

"What about you Drakus?"

"I got it Sheppard, and Zaeed wasn't the only one who saw that Hang-Glider thing, the police officers have seen it as well and are on there way to the roof." Drakus replied.

"There's no way in hell they'll get to the roof in time." Zaeed said.

"That's what I'm counting on." Sheppard replied as he heard noise coming from the vents, noise that was far too loud for it to be rats.

"It looks like our guest has arrived." Marcus muttered, apparently the guards outside the door heard it as well as the Turiens and Krogan guards bust in.

"You herd the noise from the vents as well?" The Turian who let them in asked.

"Yeah, be ready." Sheppard muttered, a vent fell to the ground and soon afterwards a tall slender man with long black hair dropped down, he was wearing a mask to conceal his face, a long black trenchcoat and all black underneath.

"Illium PD, FREEZE, step away from the Diamond." Dara ordered as she and several other officers stormed in alongside Drakus who the Krogan guards bowed too out of respect.

"Senorita, it seems you have underestimated me, this piece of junk isn't worth stealing!" La Sombre said breaking the glass around the diamond, he picked up the diamond and dropped it, the diamond shattered on impact.

"It was a fake?!" Dara said shocked.

"I can spot a fake a mile away, just like I can spot the saviour of the Citadel a mile away Commander Sheppard." The thief said to the SPECTRE with a lot of respect in his voice.

"Wait if that thing was a fake then why did you go to all the trouble of breaking into the museum?" Marcus asked confused.

"I needed the exercise." La Sombre shrugged.

"You can get a lot of exercise in prison La Sombre; you're under arrest for Goddess knows how many robberies." Dara said going to make the arrest.

"I don't think so Dara." Sheppard said standing between them.

"What the hell Sheppard, I thought you where here to help?!" Dara asked. "Don't make me arrest you for obstruction of justice....."

"Yeah right, we maybe on the gateway to the Terminus Systems but the fact is Sheppard is a member of the SPECTRES and we need La Sombre for an important mission." Drakus interrupted.

"This man has stolen artefacts all over the damn galaxy, he's at the top of the Citadel Council's Most Wanted List and don't even get me started on his bounty and you want him to help in whatever the hell you have planned?!" Dara exclaimed.

"That's the jist of it, and whether you like it or not my status as a SPECTRE means I outrank you Dara." Sheppard said, Dara gritted her teeth and turned to the other officers and the guards.

"Everyone stand down, we'll have to arrest La Sombre another time." Dara said.

"Good luck with that, the Council is willing to wipe his record clean in order to secure his cooperation." Dara let out an annoyed growl as she left.

"Thank you Sheppard Commander, this unit could not stand the thought of maintaining this charade." Sheppard did a double take and turned around.

"La Sombre, or would you prefer it if you where called Legion?" "La Sombre" pressed a button on his ommi-tool and the image of the thief disappeared and in his place stood Legion.

"Did that Geth just talk?!" Marcus exclaimed.

"Yeah and that's not the weird part, he's supposed to be dead." Sheppard replied.

"Correction, this unit kept a backup of off all the data it had collected in a secure location, when this unit died the backup activated." Legion replied.

"So why did you resort to thievery?" Sheppard asked.

"This unit didn't have a ship or enough credits to buy a ticket to the Normandy's last known location, this unit created a holographic device and became the thief known as La Sombre." Legion said, Sheppard put a hand to his earpiece.

"Normandy, La Sombre is a no go, it was an identity assumed by Legion, and we'll be there in five minutes."

"You got it Commander.....wait LEGION?! I had no idea Geth could become Ghosts!" Sheppard rolled his eyes.

"It's a long story, I'll explain on the Normandy." Sheppard replied. "Zaeed, we're done here, and we've got an old friend on our squad."

"Who's the old friend?" Zaeed asked.

"It's Legion." Sheppard couldn't see him but he could tell that he was shocked.

"Well I'll be damned, I'll meet on the Normandy Sheppard or have you forgotten the fact that I'm on top of a skyscraper."

"You could always borrow Legion's Hang-Glider." Sheppard replied.

"That's cute Sheppard, very cute!" Zaeed replied.

"Sheppard Commander, this unit was dropped down onto the roof by a Geth dropship using stealth technology, this unit didn't use a hang-glider nor does it know what a hang-glider is." Legion replied.

"There's someone else in the museum?" Drakus asked.

"That seems to be the most logical answer." Legion replied. it was then that the sounds of screaming from the direction that Dara and the other officers went and Marcus, Legion, Drakus and Sheppard left the display room and found the officers unconscious and a familiar face standing over them.

"Hello Sheppard." Kaisumi Guto said with a grin.

"Kaisumi, somehow I'm not surprised that you decided to try stealing the diamond." Sheppard said.

"You know me too well, but I'm not here for the diamond, I've got a score to settle with La Sombre." Kaisumi said plainly.

"Okay, Kaisumi meet La Sombre, La Sombre, Kaisumi." He said motioning to Legion.

"You have got to be kidding; I was being beat to the punch every time I've attempted a robbery since we blew up the Collector Base by that damn Geth of yours?" Kaisumi said annoyed.

"Yes." Legion replied.

"If he's with you then I'm gone, I'd rather not be here when the cops regain consciousness." Kaisumi said leaving.

"Sheppard Commander, I strongly recommend following Kaisumi's example."

"Right, let's head to the Normandy, can't wait to explain this to the crew." Sheppard muttered as they left the musseaum.


	5. Loyalty

The members of Sheppard's crew that hadn't gone to Illium with him where all sitting down in the newly built conference room, it was built after the Collector attack as Sheppard felt that given how large the crew was and how much larger it was going to be by the time the Reapers arrived the debriefing room was going to be very cramped, eventually Sheppard stepped in.

"Everyone, some of you may be surprised or shocked by this but, allow me to introduce the newest Squad member." Sheppard said as Legion stepped inside the room, the members of the crew that had worked with Legion expressed shock and surprise at they seeing him alive, Jenny on the other hand went for her gun almost immediately. "Relax Jenny, he's on our side."

"You're telling me a Geth is working with us?" Jenny said moving her hand away from her gun.

"Yes." Legion said in reply which served to confuse the young solder even more.

"Did that Geth just......"

"Yes, that Geth just talked, for those who don't know this is Legion, we found him on a derelict Reaper in the Hawking Eta cluster." Sheppard said, the rest of the crew already knew this but this was more to fill in Jenny, Drakus and Marcus and the rest of the crew knew it. "If you want the specifics you can ask Legion himself but basically the Geth have two fractions, Heretics and non-Hostile Geth, the Heretics are the ones that we've fought numerous times."

"I have a question." Drakus interrupted. "Will these Heretics be a problem?" Drakus asked asking what Jenny and Marcus where thinking.

"No, I rewrote them using a virus they created which essentially means I brainwashed them into accepting Legion's Geth's way of thinking. You may think that's wrong but we need all the help we can get and Legion's Geth will be invaluable for the mission ahead."

"Yeah but your forgetting the important part commander, Legion was killed during the attack on the Collector Base." Jacob pointed out.

"Not to mention the fact that I was under the impression that we where recruiting a human thief and Tsoni." Garrus added.

"La Sombre never existed in the first place, it was an identity assumed by Legion using a holographic device he created, as for your point Taylor he created a backup of himself sometime before we encountered him on the Reaper but didn't have the credits or a ship to leave the world so he improvised."

"I can't wait to see the look on the council's faces when they find that out." Garrus chuckled.

"I'll be sure to have my Ommi Tool take a picture of that for you Garrus." Sheppard grinned at his old friend before refocusing his attention. "As for Liara I've decided it'll be best if we hold of recruiting her until after we recruit either Williams or Sidonis due to Liara's ongoing war with the Shadow Broker."

"So what's our next step?" Miranda asked.

"We're heading to Earth as soon as I'm done speaking with the council, we're not picking up anyone as I'm doing it as a favour to Jenny and Marcus." The crew members that where with him during the attack on the Collector Base knew what that meant. "After that we're heading to Omega to recruit Williams."

"Why is Ashley on Omega?" Tali asked.

"That's exactly what I asked Anderson when he told me the info, all I know is that its Alliance business but Anderson either chose not to tell me why or didn't know." Sheppard shook his head. "That's it for now, dismissed." The crew members left but Drakus stayed behind.

"Need something Drakus?" Sheppard asked the old Krogan.

"When you mentioned those favours you're doing for McKansa and Marcus I remembered that I have an old score to settle, it's on Omega as well so we can do it either after we recruit Ashley or before." Drakus said with a grin. "Are you familiar with Urdnot Tsilani?" Sheppard shook his head. "You probably know him as The Patriarch, the Krogan who ran Omega before that Asari bitch took over." Sheppard nodded remembering his brief encounter with the Krogan during his second visit to Omega. "He stabbed me in the back two years after the Rebellions ended, we ran Omega together until he decided that he could make more money running it alone and had my own guards turn on me. Guess payback's a bitch." Drakus chuckled.

"Let me guess, he doesn't talk about it often?" Drakus shook his head. "You want to take him out? Why wait this long?"

"Simple really, Tsilani sent me to a nearby star system on a ship with a bomb that was rigged to explode when it touched ground add that to the fact that it was auto piloted to a planet practically crawling with Thrasher Maws, Varren and Klixen and it almost seemed curtain that I would die by on that day, luckily a Blood Pack mercenary band was also there and out of respect for me took me back to Tuchanka, I've never had an opportunity like this since then." Drakus replied.

"Why where the Blood Pack on that planet?" Drakus shrugged.

"They had been duped into believing that there was a ton of valuable resources by the same Krogan who betrayed me but in reality that planet's Scanner Results are borderline depleted. When I told them what the Patriarch had done it nearly killed The Blood Pack's interest in Omega but that didn't last long."

"You want to go there and settle the score then? Well we're already going there to pick up Ashley so it shouldn't be too difficult." Sheppard said.

"Thank you Sheppard, I don't care what happens but all you need to know is that I want to be the one who kills Patriarch." Drakus left the room and headed to the Engineering deck which was on the floor bellow, he decided to hold off contacting the council until he had done the favours for Drakus, Jenny and Marcus.

"Joker, plot a course for Earth."

"Aye, Aye Commander, ETA is three hours." Joker replied and Sheppard left the room and went up in the elevator and to the CIC.

"Commander you have unread messages at your private terminal." Kelly said looking up briefly.

"Thanks Kelly." Sheppard replied checking them, there where three and they where all dossiers from Anderson.

_Dsrondo Batalic._

_-Feared Batarian mercenary._

_-Excellent shot._

_-Willing to work with council._

_A former Blue Suns Legionnaire who contacted the council after the Blue Suns attempted the Slave Raid on Mindoir, he claims to have had nothing to do with the attack as he cut his connections to the Blue Suns after they took over the refinery on Zoyra, currently located on Earth more specifically London, England._

S heppard winced knowing that a Batarian's presence on the team would cause some problems for the human members especially Jenny.

_Paul Grayson_

_-Former member of Cerberus_

_-Good at planning missions._

_-Good with a pistol_

_-note: recovering drug addict_

_A former member of Cerberus rumoured to have something to do with the attack on the Migrant Fleet, currently residing on the rebuilt colony of Eden Prime where he cares for his autistic stepdaughter Gillian_

"So he's a former Cerberus agent huh? Wonder if Jacob or Miranda remembers him." Sheppard muttered. The next one surprised him the most.

_Tidoses Mirani_

_-Turian SPECTRE agent_

_-Known for good relationship with humans._

_-One of the best marksmen in the galaxy._

_-Prior to becoming a SPECTRE she had served for years in the Turian Military._

_One of the best Turian SPECTRE agents and one of the few female Turian ones, she has agreed to work with Sheppard and is currently stationed on the planet that the prison ship Purgatory was orbiting before your little visit._

"Two SPECTRES working together, guess there's a first for everything." Sheppard muttered before Joker's voice called out.

"We're orbiting Earth now commander, just waiting for you to point us to a pacific spot to land on." Joker said.

"Good, tell Garrus and Jenny to meet me at the hanger, land at Glasgow Spaceport." Sheppard said.

"You do know how far Edinburgh is from Glasgow, right?" Jenny asked making the commander jump.

"Err, no I don't." Sheppard said.

"It's at least a two hour journey." Jenny replied.

"Not if we get the Shuttle." Garrus said joining her. "Spaceports tend to have shuttles ready to take you to your destination."

"That's good, Jenny are you sure about this? We both know how serious the charges against your sister are." Sheppard asked as they got off the Normandy and into a shuttle.

"I'm sure Sheppard, trust me on that." Jenny replied.

"Can someone fill me in here?" Garrus asked sheepishly.

"My twin sister is being charged with murdering a cop Garrus; I want to here her side of the story." Garrus nodded in understanding.

"She's lucky she's not on Palavan, she would've been given the Death Penalty almost immediately." Jenny glared at him. "Sorry, I understand this is a touchy subject for you but on Palavan and Turian colonies in general Police Officers are held with high respect, killing one is akin to assassinating a well respected diplomat."

"We can discuss how different Turian and Human laws are later, I'm doing this as a favour to Jenny nothing more, I might even use my SPECTRE status to assist the police in there investigation." Jenny grinned.

"Thanks Sheppard." She replied as the shuttle stopped.

"You have arrived at Edinburgh Shuttle Station." The Shuttle's VI said. "Please enjoy your stay."

"Yeah I bet we will." Jenny muttered as she limped off the Shuttle followed closely by Sheppard and Garrus. The police station wasn't far from the station, in fact it was right across the road, the three solders entered and where greeted by an overweight receptionist in her forties.

"Good morning, how may I be of service to you?" She asked.

"We're here to see Kate McKansa." Sheppard said and the receptionist winced.

"As is standard with all murder suspects we must take your fingerprints before letting you through." She said holding up a small fingerprint scanner, the three solders removed they're gloves and pressed down on it, Jenny went first and winced when her record showed up.

"Jenny McKansa, 18 years old, among the 20 gang members arrested last year for a variety of offenses. I'm afraid I can't let you through Jenny."

"I can vouch for her." Sheppard said. "She just wants to talk with her sister, that's all."

"I can't accept that until you scan your fingerprint sir." She replied and Sheppard did so, when the fingerprint matched a result her eyes went wide with shock.

"Commander Sheppard? I thought you where dead?" The receptionist asked.

"If I had ten credits for every time someone pointed that out I'd be rich enough to buy myself a seat on the Citadel Council." Sheppard said getting a hearty laugh from the receptionist.

"Well if the first Human SPECTRE vouches for her then she can go through." Jenny grinned. "That just leaves you sir." The receptionist said to Garrus getting a different fingerprint scanner out, Garrus scanned his fingerprint in and the result came up.

"Garrus Vakarian, former Turian Military officer who served in C-SEC for 10 years before resigning, reported missing a month after the attack on the Citadel." Garrus shook his head.

"Yeah, the disappearance is a long story and I'm sure you have more important things to do then worry about a former C-SEC officer." The receptionist grinned.

"Aye, McKansa's cell is down the hall and the last one on the left." She said pointing out to them where to go.

"Thanks." Sheppard replied as the three solders starting walking down the hall, most of the cells where empty but they heard a Scottish female talking with a police officer down the hall.

"Come on Kate you have to eat something!" The young police officer said. "I understand that you're worried about what will happen but starving to death isn't the answer."

"I'm not hungry, hell the prison food has put me off eating for the rest of my life." The female accent replied.

"I can attest to that." Jenny muttered as they neared the cell.

"May I help you?" The police officer asked.

"I'm Commander Sheppard, a SPECTRE; this is Garrus Vakerian and Jenny McKansa." The young police officer looked up.

"Commander Sheppard? Well I'll be the rear end of the Loch Ness Monster, I thought....."

"That I had died? Trust me; I've been getting that A LOT." Sheppard replied. "I'm here to help investigate the murder that Kate McKansa has been accused off."

"I'm Detective Eric McKenzie, I've been assigned to the case in question, wait did you say McKansa?" Eric asked motioning to Jenny.

"Aye, I just want to talk to my sister if that's okay?" Jenny said.

"I'll get you two a private room." Eric replied. "Looks like you have a family member that gives a damn about you Kate." Eric said to her getting him a cold stare from Jenny. "Sorry, I was close friends with the cop she murdered."

"You seem certain that she killed him." Garrus pointed out.

"Aye, we have all the physical evidence we need to convict her, well aside from the Murder Weapon, which the ME identified as a Lead Metal Pipe, which went missing from the scene." Eric said.

"And without that any decent defence attorney can create reasonable doubt in a jury." Garrus replied. "I used to work with C-Sec I know how things work in court."

"Always wanted to visit the Citadel myself just don't have the funds to do so." Eric commented.

"Be thankful, the wards are a hellhole." Garrus replied, Kate, who was the splitting image of Jenny save for the fact that she had freckles on her cheeks, was lead out of the cell and smiled at Jenny.

"Hey sis, this is kind of awkward." Kate greeted her sister.

"Gee, you think?" Jenny grinned. Eric led the two to an unoccupied interrogation room and lead Garrus and Sheppard to the crime lab.

"What can you tell us about the case?" Garrus asked.

"Officer Mike McLaren was found dead in an alleyway about an half hour away from the police station, the ME ruled the cause of death to be Blunt Force Trauma caused by four consecutive blows to the back of the head with a metal object resulting in a Subnormal Hematoma, he was dead in minutes." Eric explained. "We found hairs that matched a DNA sample from Kate's previous arrest for Robbery and she claimed that a man had tried to rape her when the officer intervened and the man killed the officer whilst she took the opportunity to escape."

"Did you find the guy she accused of attempted rape?" Jenny asked entering the room.

"She picked him out of a police line-up but here's the medical examiner's report on Mike's autopsy." Eric handed over the report to Garrus.

"Death was caused by Blunt Force Trauma to the skull caused by a metal pipe being swung by someone with limited upper body strength." Garrus read out loud. "Let me guess, that ruled out the rapist?"

"Aye, the guy she picked out was pretty muscular, definitely not lacking in upper body strength so we started looking at Kate. According to her Mike had stopped taking bribes from her gang leader and she tasked the two of them with taking him out, they staged a Rape just to lure him into the alley and whilst Mike was busy with her accomplice, who is being charged with accessory to murder, Kate attacked, he tried to defend himself but her accomplice put a stop to that."

"Pretending to be in trouble just to lure a police officer to his death, hate to say it Jenny but that seems like pretty damning evidence to me, and I don't think any jury would sympathize with her." Garrus said with a hint of disgust in his voice. "What did she say to you?"

"She said the gang leader framed her but after looking at the evidence I'm not so sure." There was a knock at the door and another officer came in.

"Eric, Tyson wants a word with you." The officer said.

"Tyson's her accomplice?" Garrus asked.

"Aye, and with a charge like his I wouldn't be surprised if he was seeking immunity in exchange for testifying against Kate." Eric replied. They walked to an interview room where a muscular young man with short black hair sat with his arms crossed, Sheppard, Jenny and Garrus remained outside whilst Eric entered the room. "What can I do for you Tyson?" Eric asked.

"Look man, I know how much trouble I'm in right now and I know that you'll have a hard time convicting Kate without a murder weapon." Tyson said with an accent that sounded like Marcus'.

"What are you getting at Tyson?" Eric asked.

"I know who took the murder weapon from the scene; the Gang Leader employs a cleanup crew to deal with any hits committed by her gang members on her orders." Tyson said.

"We need a name and address for this cleanup crew of hers." Eric said.

"Not so fast, my client wants immunity and entry into the Sheppard Scholarship in exchange for his testimony." The public defence lawyer assigned to Tyson interrupted.

"You'll have to talk to CCS about that." Eric said.

"No need, my dad has connections, just have him talk to the right people and I'll be in the Scholarship before you know it." This caught Sheppard's attention.

"Who's your dad then?" Eric asked.

"General Marcus Resoltio." Jenny, Garrus and Sheppard shared a look.

"You mean the Alliance Veteran?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, the one and only Marcus Resoltio." Tyson replied.

"I'm not sure if we can get a hold of him...."

"But I can." Sheppard said entering the room.

"Who are you?" The attorney demanded.

"Commander Sheppard, a SPECTRE and I am helping with this investigation." Sheppard could've sworn the attorney was going to have a heart attack.

"Commander Sheppard? But you're......"

"Dead? Believe me; I've been getting that a lot." Sheppard replied. "Give me a few minutes and I'll have your father down here, he wants to talk to you anyway Tyson."

"Really, about what?" Tyson asked.

"Oh I don't know, how about the fact that you've assisted a woman in murdering a cop." Sheppard pointed out.

"Good point." Tyson admitted. Sheppard left the room and put a hand to his earpiece.

"Normandy, send Marcus to meet us at our coordinates." Sheppard said into his earpiece.

"You got it Commander." Joker replied, around ten minutes later Marcus showed up outside the interrogation room.

"Sheppard, any particular reason you dragged me away from a game of Skillian Five Poker with Tali and those engineers whose names I keep forgetting?" Marcus asked.

"I take it you mean Engineer Donnelly and Engineer Daniels?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah that's them." Marcus replied.

"Have a look for yourself." Sheppard said motioning to the interrogation room where Tyson was sitting, Marcus did a double take before realising who it was.

"Tyson? What has he done?" Marcus asked.

"He assisted Jenny's twin sister in the murder of a dirty cop, he's looking at some serious hard time in prison but he's willing to tell us where the Murder Weapon is and testify against Jenny's sister if you convince the Sheppard Scholarship to get him N7 training." Sheppard replied, Marcus sighed.

"Whenever he got in trouble for whatever reason he always dropped my name hoping to get out of it, guess this time is no different." Marcus said, Sheppard entered the room again and led Marcus inside, Tyson's jaw dropped when he saw his dad.

"Dad? I thought he was bluffing when he said that he could bring you in." Tyson said.

"Tyson, you need to learn one thing about me, I don't bluff." Sheppard replied.

"Off all the times you come here you do it when I'm facing an accessory to murder rap? Why did you come now?" Tyson asked, Marcus sighed.

"Tyson, you of all people should know how military life is, after all both your mother and I where in the Alliance." Marcus replied.

"Yeah but that was until she died during the Battle of the Citadel, after that you where always on that human colony Mindoir!" Tyson said.

"Ouch, and I thought me and my dad had problems." Jenny said out loud.

"Didn't you say he was supportive of your entry into the Military?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, after I accepted the Sheppard Scholarship's offer." Jenny replied.

"Son, your mother died a hero trying to stop Saren, all the alliance solders who died during that attack did, I took the job on Mindoir to save you the pain of losing both you're parents, I'll make the call to the Sheppard Scholarship but you had better keep your end of the bargain and give Sheppard and the police officers the info they need and testify in court." Marcus replied.

"You think I'm stupid? I'm looking at 15 years to life at the very least, off course I'll help!" Marcus smiled and left the interrogation room.

"Are you going to okay Marcus?" Garrus asked.

"I'll be fine Garrus; I got over what happened to my wife shortly after Jenny arrived." Marcus replied. "I'll be back on the Normandy, though first I have a call to make to the Sheppard Scholarship to get Tyson into the N7 program and after that, if you need me, I'll be seeing if Tali, Donnelly and Daniels are still playing poker." Marcus replied.

"Kick there asses if they are." Jenny called and Marcus grinned at her.

"Would you expect anything less?" Marcus said before going off to make the phone call, he returned a few minutes with a grin. They're willing to accept Tyson; you can go ahead and give him the good news Sheppard."

"Thanks Marcus, see you back on the Normandy." Sheppard replied and the old solder walked off towards the exit, Sheppard returned to the Interrogation room.

"You where right about your dad, he was able to convince the Scholarship to get you into the Alliance, we just need your testimony at the trial and the location of the cleaning crew's hideout." Sheppard told him.

"Knew he would persuade them, okay the cleanup crew's stationed across town in an abandoned warehouse in the industrial district, can't miss it, large building with the logo for that old computer company called Apple." Tyson answered.

"You know the place Jenny?" Garrus asked her and she nodded.

"Yeah, it's the same building the gang I belonged to used as a HQ, had no idea another gang was using it but considering I was in N7 and on Mindoir for the past year or so I couldn't exactly keep tags on it." Jenny answered.

"True enough." Garrus admitted.

"But remember this Tyson, if your lying then you won't get immunity or service in the Alliance, you'll be serving a prison sentence alongside Kate." Sheppard warned and Tyson put his hands up in defence.

"Hey man, like I said to dad I'm not stupid." Tyson replied.

"_Apparently he doesn't consider assisting in the murder of a cop stupid." _Garrus thought as Sheppard left the room.

"Well, we know where to head next." Sheppard said leading the three of them out of the building and back to the shuttle with Jenny punching in the coordinates for the cleanup crew's headquarters, they arrived there a few minutes later and entered the warehouse, there were a dozen people in the room and one man in his early 20s was barking orders at the others.

"Come on quick, we've got to get rid of that evidence." The young man said, only to be caught by surprise by Jenny's biotics.

"Think again." She said suspending the man with her biotics.

"Hey let me go, we're not fighters, just tell us what you want and we'll give it to you lady." Jenny let him go and he fell to the floor with a thud.

"Bit harsh don't you think?" Garrus whispered to Jenny who just shrugged. "We want the evidence from the Kate McKansa case."

"Why do you want the evidence from that case? It's not like it's that serious." The leader asked confused, Jenny facepalmed.

"You mean to tell me that you took evidence from a crime scene and didn't stop once to ask what exactly what you where stealing or what the crime WAS?" Jenny said disbelieving.

"We get paid to steal key evidence from Crime Scenes, not ask questions!" Garrus, Sheppard and Jenny shared a look.

"The crime scene was for the murder of a cop that had stopped taking bribes from the gang that had him murdered." Sheppard said. "And unless you cooperate I'll arrange it so you'll all go down for obstruction of justice!"

"Hey.....hey let's not do anything hasty here, we had no idea that it was a murder let alone a murder of a cop!" The leader said hastily.

"What evidence did you steal from the scene?" Garrus asked.

"A lead pipe that has blood on it, here take it we want nothing more to do with this shit man!" The leader said handing over the pipe with a gloved hand and Sheppard took it.

"Didn't you wonder were the blood came from?" Garrus asked.

"We thought that a gang member had a nose bleed on it." The three solders shook there heads in disbelief.

"You're a bunch of idiots!" The three solders said in unison before leaving and heading back to the shuttle, Sheppard punched in the coordinates to take them back to the police station and they returned to the station saying hi to the receptionist on the way in and entered the crime lab where Eric was waiting.

"Well?" Eric asked hopefully.

"We got a lead pipe from the cleanup crew that has blood on it, I assume that you've got a sample of McLaran's DNA from the autopsy?" Garrus replied.

"Ah good, give it here and I'll dust it for prints and compare the blood to Mike's sample." Eric replied dusting it for prints, he found one and compared it to exemplar prints from Tyson and Kate finding that it matched Kate's print.

"One down one to go here's hoping this is the murder weapon." Eric said comparing the blood on the pipe to the blood from Mike's autopsy, it matched and just to be on the safe side he compared the shape of the weapon to a picture of the head wound, they matched and all colour drained from Jenny's face.

"We've got her for murder 1, thanks again for your help guys." Eric said to them. "You want to tell her or should....."

"We'll tell her." Jenny said and Garrus and Sheppard agreed, they left the room and went to Kate's cell, Kate ran up to the bars when she saw Jenny.

"Jenny, did you prove that I was framed?" Jenny stared at her coldly. "Jenny?"

"We know you killed that cop Kate, not only that but we can prove it." Garrus said. "Your fingerprints are on the murder weapon and we have you DNA at the scene, not only that but your accomplice will be testifying against you, we have you dead to rights."

"Why did you do it Kate? You betrayed my trust and Sophie's for that matter." Jenny said.

"He was a dirty cop! I was under orders to take him out; the city is a safer place without him!" Sheppard shook his head.

"You could've stuck up to the gang leader, maybe even warn Mike that the leader wanted him dead. Instead you and Tyson planned a premeditated murder." Sheppard told her, Eric walked up.

"You're looking at life imprisonment with no possibility of parole, you just threw your life away Kate, I hope you enjoy the rest of your life behind bars." Eric told her, Kate sat down on the cell's bed not saying anything looking pale, Jenny said nothing and left the Police Station with Garrus and Sheppard and entered the shuttle.

"Are you going to okay Jenny?" Sheppard asked.

"My sister murdered a cop, is going away for life and manipulated me into thinking that she was innocent, how do you think I feel?" Jenny snapped.

"Sorry, if you want I can send you back to the Normandy and send someone else for the recruitment mission we're doing in London." Sheppard said forgetting that he hadn't mentioned it yet causing confused looks from Garrus and Jenny.

"Did you say recruitment? Who are we recruiting?" Jenny asked.

"Dsrondo, a Batarian mercenary....." This got uneasy looks from both squad members.

"A BATARIAN!? You expect humans to work with a batarian with no problems? I was willing to put my differences aside with Garrus commander but this?" Jenny just shook her head as she entered the shuttle with Garrus and Sheppard. "I'll be back on the Normandy as soon as we're back at Glasgow Intergalactic, just don't bother me for a few hours once you've recruited him."

"Sure." Sheppard said as the Shuttle went back to the Spaceport.


	6. Enter the Mercenary

Garrus, Sheppard and Thane stepped off the shuttle as it stopped off in London, Thane had volunteered to accompany Sheppard and Garrus as Jenny was still processing the fact that Kate had really murdered the cop and Thane was the only one not doing anything on the Normandy.

"So about this Batarian, did Anderson tell you where exactly we're meeting him?" Garrus asked.

"You remember that call I made on the way over? It was to Anderson asking if he could point us to a specific spot after Jenny pointed out that London was the Capital City of England and a really big city, a fact I already knew but didn't realise that finding someone in a city this size isn't going to be easy, even if a Batarian will stick out like a sore thumb in this city, until she pointed it out." Sheppard admitted. "Anderson told me to look for a bar called "The Headless Horseman" in North London."

"I must say that is a nice place." Garrus admitted looking around the city. They saw a young mother pushing a pram and Garrus approached her. "Excuse me, can you give us directions?"

"Err, sure I guess." The woman, obviously not used to seeing Turians and Drell in London, answered.

"We're looking for a bar called The Headless Horseman; do you know where to find it?" Sheppard chimed in and the young woman frowned.

"That place is a breeding ground for the scum of the city, why would you want to go there off all places?" She warned.

"It's a long story, we're meeting a friend there and we don't intend to do anything evil, that's all you need to know." Garrus answered.

"Well since you put it that way I can give you the coordinates and the shuttle you just got off will take you there. I'd be careful there if I where you though."

"We can take care for ourselves but thank you for the warning." Thane thanked her as she wrote down the coordinates on a piece of paper and gave it to them.

"Thanks." Sheppard thanked her and she took off quickly. "Do you still think it's a nice place Garrus?" Sheppard asked the Turian whose mandibles indicated a grin.

"Please, this bar sounds just as dangerous as Chora's Den or Afterlife......or Omega in general for that matter." Garrus chuckled. "I think we'll be fine."

The three of them went back into the Shuttle and Sheppard entered the coordinates, almost half in hour later they where looking at the bar, it was small and clearly old as the building showed signs od decay.

"This doesn't seem so......" A large man came flying through the window stopping to Garrus' feet. "Never mind, forget I said anything."

"Consider it done." Sheppard answered as the three of them entered the bar, Sheppard went up to the bartender, an old woman in her early sixties.

"Hey good looking, what can I get ya?" The old woman asked in an accent that sounded typical of a life long smoker.

"I'm looking for a Batarian." At that moment everyone else stopped what they're doing and looked at Sheppard as if he just declared that he was the bastard child of the Easter Bunny and Santa Clause.

"You want a Batarian go look in the Terminus Systems." The bartender replied snidely.

"It's okay Shelia, I know who this is." A Batarian accent replied and a tall Batarian with a light greenish color to his skin stepped forward. "Commander Sheppard? I'm Dsrondo Batalic, from what I understand we are going to be working together."

"Did you say Batalic? You wouldn't happen to know another Batarian by the name Wsrenko would you." Garrus asked recognising the surname, Dsrondo nodded.

"Yes, he was my brother until he was killed during the assault on Archangel's base on Omega. I was told that a turian betrayed his team which lead to his death." Sheppard winced knowing that they would be recruiting the Turian soon.

"Dsrondo, just a fair warning the majority of my crew on my ship are human so....."

"You're worried that my presence on your ship might lead to an incident." Dsrondo interrupted and Sheppard nodded. "We can discus that later, all you need to know is that not all Batarians condone the slave trade."

"Shelia was it? Can we get some privacy with Dsrondo?" Sheppard asked the bartender who shrugged.

"Hey, if the first human SPECTER wants a word with Ds here than I'm not going to argue, he has a back room rented out." She replied.

"Follow me." Dsrondo said motioning for Sheppard, Garrus and Thane to follow him, they where lead to the backroom that Dsrondo had rented out and they entered. "So what's so important that you can't discuss it in front of civilians?"

"What do you know about The Reapers?" Garrus asked and Dsrondo laughed.

"I was briefed by Anderson and the council if you're worried that I believe that The Reapers are a myth, I know that the whole universe will be thoroughly screwed when the Reapers arrive and that's all I need to know." Dsrondo answered, Sheppard shared a look with the other two squadmates and they where thinking the same thing, this was too easy.

"Not look a gift crewmember in the mouth or anything but whenever we've tried too recruit someone in the past there's always been a big battle getting between us and the new crewmember." Sheppard said getting a laugh out of Dsrondo.

"Actually there is one thing; I have a large bounty on my head." Dsrondo said.

"How large are we talking?" Thane asked.

"Half a million credits if they bring me in dead, a million if they bring me in alive, though surprisingly most bounty hunters go for the dead option." Dsrondo shook his head.

"Who ordered the hit?" Garrus asked.

"My old friends The Blue Suns, more specifically they're leader Vido Santiago, he wasn't to pleased when I gave him the middle finger when he announced his plans for a Slave Raid on Mindoir, he was even more pissed when I announced my resignation." Dsrondo said.

"You don't have to worry about Vido anymore; he's dead courtesy of another old friend of his." Sheppard told him.

"Let me guess, Zeead?" Dsrondo chuckled. "I've met some tough bastards in my time but I've never met anyone who survived a gun shot to the head at point-blank range."

"That's nothing, we survived going through the Omega 4 Relay," Sheppard told him.

"So I heard, I also heard you wiped out the Collectors, impressive work Sheppard....." Dsrondo was cut off but the sounds of gunfire and screaming from the bar area.

"That sounds troublesome." Thane muttered.

"Shit, the bounty hunter that's been on my tail ever since I left The Blue Suns is here." Dsrondo grumbled grabbing his Hand Cannon pistol.

"How do you know it's him?" Sheppard asked.

"I've been to Omega, Ilium, The Pursues Vail, you name an area in The Terminus Systems and he's followed me there." Dsrondo grumbled.

"You figured that he wouldn't follow you to council space because of the reputation Batarians have among council species." Dsrondo nodded. "What can you tell me about the Bounty Hunter?"

"Turian, around the same height as your Turian friend there, served in the Turian Military before becoming a bounty hunter, black and red scales." Garrus' mandibles flared recognising the bounty hunter from the description.

"Mcsdes damn it, I though I'd seen the last of him." The Turian shook his head.

"You know him?" Sheppard asked.

"You remember the reach and flexibility story I told you?" Sheppard nodded. "Mcsdes was another member of the crew, more specifically the captain of the ship, when he learned of me and the recon scout's cool down he tried to have us both killed but failed and was kicked out of the military."

"Why did he want you dead after that?" Dsrondo asked.

"He was dating the recon scout before she joined the crew and whilst fraternisation isn't frowned upon in the Turian Military like it is in the Alliance the recon scout broke it off when she joined the ship, he didn't take that well."

"Let me guess, by "didn't take that well" you mean he had each and every one of her future boyfriends killed." Sheppard asked.

"He even killed those who had one night stands with her, as for why he went after the scout she had figured out the connection and wanted to report him." Garrus shook his head. "Mcsdes is an egomaniac. He thinks that he's what every Turian female looks for in a mate but he isn't."

"Yeah, that sounds like the guy alright." Dsrondo said.

"Do you really have to tell everyone my life story Garrus?" The four solders turned around seeing Mcsdes. "Commander Sheppard never thought I'd have the pleasure of killing you."

"The fate of the entire galaxy is at stake and you're concerned over one Batarian?" Sheppard narrowed his eyes.

"I stopped caring about the rest of the galaxy after Garrus had me kicked out of the Turian Military; all I care about now is making as much money as I can."

"I had you kicked out because you where having you're own crew members killed because of one Turian female, I'd say that's reason enough for you to be kicked out." Garrus' eyes narrowed, suddenly Dsrondo disarmed Mcsdes with an elbow to the arm, the Turian yelled in pain as he clenched his arm.

"Sheppard, I must thank you for giving me the opportunity I needed to take him out." Dsrondo said and Sheppard grinned.

"No problem." Sheppard turned to Mcsdes. "You have two options, try to take us out unarmed or flee your choice."

"I'm not stupid Commander; I wasn't the worst ranked Hand To Hand specialist for nothing." Mcsdes said before turning on his heels and leaving.

"That was easy enough, so what now?" Dsrondo asked.

"We'll head to my ship; the shuttle's parked outside the bar." Sheppard answered and Dsrondo nodded, they left the bar stepping over the corpses of the patrons caught in the crossfire and entered the shuttle and travelled back to the Normandy.

"Joker, set a course for Omega." Sheppard told the pilot as they entered.

"You got it Commander." Joker answered.

"Commander, I'll be heading to wherever the crew deck is." Dsrondo said.

"I'll show you the way; I was on my way there myself." Garrus said leading the Batarian to the elevator, they took the elevator down to the crew quarters and they entered the quarters.

"Hey Garrus, I heard the mission on Earth was a success." Rupert greeted the Turian.

"You could say that, Dsrondo here is the newest member of the squad." Garrus said as Dsrondo stepped forward.

"Hello." Dsrondo said.

"I didn't realize that the Commander was hiring terrorists." Rupert said his usual friendly demeanour long gone.

"I anticipated such a reaction." Dsrondo admitted before taking a seat. "I understand if you are unwilling to trust me human but I assure you that I mean no harm."

"Yeah, I'll believe that when I see it." Rupert muttered.

"I couldn't agree more Rupert." Jenny said as she limped out of the crew's sleeping quarters.

"Dsrondo I'll be at the forward batteries if you need me." Garrus said pointing out the door to the Forward Batteries to the Batarian.

"Very well Garrus." Dsrondo said in reply and the Turian returned to his post, Jenny sat opposite him. "I don't believe I caught your names."

"I'm Rupert, the ship's chef and that's Jenny McKansa, you might be working with her on a few missions just don't expect her to be trusting of you, or me for that matter." Rupert said.

"I can speak for myself Rupert." Jenny said.

"Sorry kid." Rupert said. "You want anything to eat."

"Give me anything as long as it's not Chef's Surprise." Jenny replied.

"You got it, Varren faeces and Krogan urine fresh from Grunt coming right up." Rupert said with a grin and Jenny frowned.

"You're kidding about that, right?"

"Yeah I'm kidding; I'll see what I've got." Rupert said as he looked over his menu.

"See if you can fix something up for me as well Rupert." Jenny looked over her shoulder and saw Jacob, who greeted Dsrondo with a nod which was returned.

"Hi Jacob." Jenny greeted.

"Hey." Jacob replied sitting next to her. "I heard about what's going to happen to your sister, how are you feeling about it?"

"Let me guess, Kelly was to busy to ask me about it?" Jenny asked getting a laugh from Jacob.

"Not really but I'm just asking as a friend." Jacob replied.

"What's there to talk about really? Kate's getting a life sentence because she killed a cop, nothing more to it." Jenny said with a shrug.

"Didn't she manipulate you into thinking she was innocent?" Jacob asked getting a suspicious look from Jenny.

"How'd you find out about that? The only guys who where with me on that mission were Garrus and.....Sheppard, he told you didn't he?" Jacob sighed.

"Yeah, he asked me to check on you whilst he talked to the Council regarding Dsrondo and Legion's recruitments." Jacob admitted. "Though to be honest I would've asked you how you're where feeling about Kate's situation if he hadn't asked me too."

"Look, it may be hard for you to understand but as far as I'm concerned Kate's dead to me and she can rot in jail for all I care." Jenny said matter-of-factly.

"Actually I do understand where you're coming from; I feel the same way about my dad after he let his own crew eat the toxic food on the planet his ship crashed on." Jacob said.

"That's the first time I've heard anyone talk about there dad that way." Dsrondo commented. "Or there sister for that matter though based on what you've told us it sounds like they both deserve what they got."

"Yeah, let's just say that the Death Penalty was too good for him." Jacob said shaking his head.

"He got the Death Penalty for poor ship management?" Jenny asked confused.

"It was more than that, he had his fellow officers killed when they mutinied over the decisions he made when he was promoted." Jacob explained.

"It sounds like he wasn't fit for his job as captain." Dsrondo said as Rupert brought over a burger for Jenny.

"Pretty much." Jacob said with a shrug.

"Then why the hell was he promoted?" Jenny asked.

"First captain was killed when the ship crashed; my dad was promoted in his place." Jacob replied as Jenny finished her burger, just then Sheppard's voice was heard over the intercom.

"Jenny McKansa and Drakus, meet me at the hanger we are about to land on Omega." Sheppard said and Jenny stood up.

"That's my cue, see you when I get back." Jenny said before walking off.


	7. Omega part 1

"Damn it, Anderson had better be right about my contact." Ashley muttered as she paced back and forth in front of the Afterlife nightclub, the ever present line of people waiting to get in occasionally giving her funny looks.

"Ashley Williams?" A gruff voice, which Ashley recognised as one belonging to a Krogan the same age as Wrex, said and she turned around.

"Yeah, and you are?" She asked.

"I'm Urdnot Drakus, at your service." The Krogan greeted.

"_Guy's got good manners for a Krogan."_ Ashley thought turning around before quickly realising that he wasn't alone, she didn't recognise the young human solder that was with him but she did recognise the other person. "Sheppard?! You're my contact?"

"Nah, the guys waiting in line are." The young solder joked.

"_Great, he's got a smartass on his crew; she's going to make things interesting whilst I'm here."_ Ashley thought.

"Hello Ashley, Anderson told me I'd find you here." Sheppard greeted.

"Why did Anderson send a Cerberus operative to meet me here?" Ashley asked suspiciously.

"Because I'm no longer with Cerberus, I quit after eliminating the Collector threat." Sheppard answered, Ashley looked at him for a few minutes trying to gage whether or not he was telling the truth, once she realised that he was she pulled him into a hug which he accepted.

"Well, that was unexpected." Jenny whispered to Drakus who shrugged.

"So Sheppard, would you care to introduce me to those two?" She asked motioning to Jenny and Drakus.

"Sure, you already know Drakus; the other person is Jenny McKansa." Ashley's eyes narrowed.

"Did you say McKansa? Why the hell are you letting a member of a family of traitors onto your crew?" Ashley asked.

"What did you just say?" Jenny said getting in Ashley's face.

"Kid, you'd better face facts, you're family's a spit in the face of Alliance history." Ashley said nonchalantly.

"My grandfather may have betrayed the Alliance but at least he wasn't a coward like General Williams was." She spat back and Sheppard's, along with everyone on the Normandy that had worked with Williams during the war against Saren who was watching the mission on the vids, jaw dropped.

"Listen kid, if I where you I'd chose my next words very carefully, because you DON'T want to piss me off." Ashley warned somehow keeping her temper in check.

"Or what?" Jenny asked.

"Or you'll have to deal with a pissed off SPECTRE candidate." Jenny backed off wisely though still angry at the comments made by Ashley.

"You're being considered for the SPECTRES?" Sheppard asked surprised.

"Well me and about a hundred other candidates, I've even heard that a Krogan's being considered." Ashley shrugged.

"It's about damn time." Drakus muttered.

"How did that happen?" Sheppard asked ignoring Drakus' comment.

"The mission on Horizon was the start off it, when I returned to the Citadel and gave my report on what happened Anderson dropped the bombshell on me that I was considered to be a strong SPECTRE candidate, he said that I only have one mission after this one to be truly considered for the role though he was vague about it." Ashley answered.

"Coincidently that's why I'm here; I've been tasked with gathering a large squad of the best of the best in preparation for the Reaper threat and you where among the names suggested to me for recruitment." Ashley grinned.

"Sounds like we'll be working together, but first I need to take care of my reason for being here." Ashley said.

"That's a good point actually, why is a SPECTRE candidate on Omega?" Drakus asked and Ashley lead the four of them to a quiet area away from the line of people.

"Someone's been smuggling SPECTRE weapons and armour to The Blood Pack, Eclipse and Blue Suns mercenary groups, fortunately they lack the training to properly use the equipment but it's an obvious security risk and I was directed here by the Blue Suns band that I defeated on Noveria who basically said that Aria T'Loak here on Omega is the mastermind as she's been giving the groups the weapons in exchange for a cut off the profits, what's worse is the fact that the Blue Suns used a Jamming Device designed for the SPECTRES during they're failed Slave Raid on Mindoir, my orders are simple, eliminate Aria and put Patriarch back in charge." Ashley said and Drakus stormed forward.

"Not going to happen." The Krogan said angrily.

"You don't have the authority Drakus." Ashley said.

"You don't understand human, I want Patriarch dead." Drakus said glaring at her. "And if the council are naive enough to believe that Patriarch will be better than Aria then Sheppard should've left them to die on the Ascension."

"How can you even think that Drakus, the council is the governing force of the galaxy.....?" Ashley asked only to be interrupted.

"Don't you think I know that human? Did it ever occur to you that you don't live as long as I have without knowledge of what's going on in the galaxy? All you need to know is that back when I and Patriarch ran this dump he betrayed me and he deserves to die." Drakus said, Sheppard got in between the two sensing that they where going to come to blows.

"Enough, both of you, maybe there's a way we can help each other." Sheppard said.

"Simple, we take out Aria and I personally kill Patriarch, you can figure out the rest for yourselves." Drakus said.

"Not going to be that simple Drakus, you used to run this place so you know how things work around here." Ashley said.

"Yeah, without Aria the Blue Suns, Blood Pack, Eclipse, and hell even the Grim Skulls will be fighting for control turning this place into an even worse hellhole than it was to begin with, same goes for Patriarch." Drakus answered. "And if you're thinking that I'm going to be perfect for the job then don't because I'm too old to run an operation like this."

"If that's the case then I've got an idea, once the mission's over we'll install someone that Drakus trusts as the leader once we've taken both guys out." Jenny added.

"That'll work, and I have just the man in mind." Drakus grinned.

"And who would that be?" Ashley asked.

"The leader of the local Blood Pack, he's a Krogan who took over after Garm was killed during the attack on Archangel's base." Drakus explained.

"Question, how can you trust him if he's the leader of the Blood Pack here on Omega?" Ashley asked.

"Simple, he's my son." Drakus replied. "He was born during the Rebellions so the Genophage didn't affect him whilst his mother was pregnant with him; he's also my contact here on Omega, I made sure to install a sense of honour in him so don't think he'll resort to slave grabs or anything other than smuggling weapons."

"It sounds like we need to pay the Blood Pack a visit." Ashley said.

"Do you have any idea where they're stationed Drakus?" Sheppard asked.

"Yeah, Archangel's old base of operations, they're actually the third group that's occupied it since Archangel's death because The Blue Suns and Eclipse kept fighting over territory until the Suns returned to the Slums and the Eclipse flat out left Omega entirely." Drakus said as they went to the Shuttle bay, the five solders got in two separate cars with Ashley driving Drakus and Sheppard driving Jenny mostly because Sheppard didn't want more arguments.

"Was that nesscersary McKansa?" Sheppard asked catching the young solder by surprise.

"What do you mean?" Jenny asked.

"Don't play dumb with me Jenny; I'm talking about your little confrontation with Williams." Sheppard said.

"Oh, and I suppose you expected me to sit back and let her badmouth my family like that? Hell no, if you where in my shoes you would've done the same." Sheppard shook his head.

"I understand you taking offence to that but if it weren't for the fact that I need you for the mission I would've kicked you off the Normandy crew and left you on Omega, you where able to put your differences aside with Garrus and I understand that it'll be tougher with Williams but keep in mind that you'll be working with her on this mission and how much she means to me." Sheppard said and Jenny didn't say anything else, until they reached the former base of Archangel, when the occupants of the two cars got out they where given a less than friendly welcome by a small band of Vorcha.

"You no come here, this is Blood Pack territory." The Vorcha that was nearest Sheppard said, Drakus stepped forward.

"I'm here to see your leader." The Krogan said starring down at the Vorcha in front off him.

"Leader Hrasus has no time for you Krogan." The Vorcha said defiantly.

"Not your place to say vermin, tell him that Drakus is here to see him." Drakus said, the Vorcha raised a hand to a primitive looking earpiece and spoke to the leader. The Vorcha finished speaking and narrowed his eyes at Drakus.

"Leader Hrasus is coming down personally." The Vorcha said before stepping aside, a tall Krogan wearing the Urdnot clan colours soon appeared.

"Are you Hrasus?" Sheppard asked and the Krogan nodded.

"And you must be the famous Commander Sheppard, the same Commander Sheppard that killed my predecessor." Hrasus said.

"I had no choice; he would've killed me and my crew if I hadn't killed him." Sheppard said.

"But I approve, Garm may have been powerful but he was also a traditionalist, under his leadership the Blood Pack where the muscle of Omega, under my leadership the Blood Pack is the second most powerful force on Omega." Hrasus replied.

"Second only to the Blue Suns I presume?" Ashley asked.

"Hah, they wish! Truth is ever since the death of Vido Santiago the Blue Suns have been crumbling from the inside, there's several different division leaders vying for leadership of the Blue Suns but none of them are fit for the job." Hrasus said.

"_Zeead's going to be happy about that." _Sheppard thought to himself. "You mean to tell me that the only force more powerful than you on Omega is Aria herself?" Sheppard asked.

"Exactly, and if I had my way she'd be kicked out off the nearest airlock but the truth is I don't have the manpower to attempt such a feet." Hrasus said.

"What about the Vorcha, Varren and other Krogan." Jenny asked.

"The vorcha are well trained but lack discipline, they'd be mowed down in minutes. The Varren won't do to much good whilst they're on the receiving end of a rocket launcher. And as for the Krogan they'd help the most but the Krogan who worked here before the siege on Archangel's base where killed alongside Garm and the ones who survived where loyal to Garm and not me." Hrasus explained.

"Well now you have backup." Drakus said walking forward.

"Father, your Krant looks strong but somehow I doubt it'll be strong enough to take down Aria." Hrasus said.

"No need to worry about that, he has a SPECTRE and a SPECTRE candidate backing him up." Jenny answered.

"Impressive, but where does that leave you?" Hrasus asked Jenny.

"She's got the least experience out of the four of us but she can still hold her own in a fight." Sheppard said.

"That right? Guess I'll see for myself." Hrasus said with a shrug.

"Do you have a plan?" Ashley asked.

"Follow me; I don't like discussing things like this out in the open." Hrasus said leading the four solders away from the Vorcha and into the old Archangel base, the interior was a lot different from what Sheppard remembered from his last visit, the door to the basement had been sealed off and there as no furniture to be seen, they passed several Krogan keeping hungry looking Varren on leashes, Hrasus lead them to the second floor and to the room where they found Archangel originally. "The plan we have is simple, we have struck a deal with the Blue Suns in order to take over Omega using our combined forces."

"Why would the Blue Suns and The Blood Pack work together again?" Sheppard asked.

"Like I said earlier, The Blue Suns are a ticking time bomb waiting to go off from the inside; they see this as the only way for them to avoid liquidation." Hrasus explained.

"And like I said we are going to help but in return we want the assistance of every race in the Terminus Systems in the upcoming Reaper War, think you can arrange that?" Sheppard asked.

"Just put The Blood Pack in charge of this hellhole then you'll have Terminus Systems races serving you lunch." Hrasus said.

"I'll take that as a yes." Sheppard said.

"Good, now that we've reached an understanding I have to give the leader of the local Blue Suns band a call if you excuse me." The four solders took it as they're cue to leave the room and they did so whilst Hrasus made the call, a few minutes later Hrasus emerged from the room. "We're good to go, Trajure, the leader of the local Blue Suns, will meet us outside the Afterlife VIP section."

"What can you tell us about Trajure?" Sheppard asked.

"Turian, served with C-Sec for about a week before quitting, rumoured to be the son of a dead SPECTRE agent but the only one who knows the full story is him, one of the view Turians that possesses biotic powers, the only Blue Suns division leader who realises that he isn't fit to run the whole operation. We're not exactly buddies but we have a mutual respect for each other because of our combat prowess." Hrasus answered.

"Really? How good is he?" Ashley asked out of curiosity.

"Good enough that the two times we fought in hand-to-combat ended in a draw, same thing with armed combat and gun fights." Hrasus said catching his father's attention.

"I trained you personally in those fields and yet this one Turian can manage to fight you to a draw? Sounds like a worthy adversary." Hrasus laughed.

"Father, that's the exact same thing he said about his dad, only difference was that he was trained to eliminate humans but that, went to hell the moment he joined the Blue Suns." Hrasus said.

"His dad hated humans?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, think he lost a close relative in the First Contact war." Hrasus shrugged as he left the building, he stopped and turned to his troops. "Wait here until I give the signal, when I give it you will meet me outside Afterlife, understood?" The troops let out a war cry which Jenny guessed meant that they understood and they got in the shuttles this time with Hrasus riding with Jenny and Sheppard, they soon arrived outside the VIP section where a small band of Blue Suns mercs where waiting, they drew there guns on Sheppard and the crew. "Hold it, they're with me." Hrasus said and the Blue Suns immediately holstered they're guns.

"I see you're keeping strong company as ever Hrasus." A Turian accent said and a tall Turian baring a striking resemblance to Saren stepped forward wearing a Blue Suns uniform. "Commander Sheppard, it's an honour to meet the hero of the Citadel."

"You know who I am?" Sheppard asked.

"Of course I do, first human SPECTRE, the one who killed Saren Acturus, the one who killed my father." Ashley and Sheppard shared a surprised look.

"You're father? Wait you don't mean....."

"Yes Sheppard, I am the offspring of Saren Acturus."


	8. Omega part 2

Ashley and Sheppard blinked in surprise and Sheppard was sure that the crew back on the Normandy was at a loss for words, Trajure, the leader of the Blue Suns on Omega, was the son of Saren, eventually Sheppard broke the silence.

"How did that happen? The only person Saren was around consistently was his right hand woman Bennezia and since she was an Asari then any children they'd have would've been Asari?"

"My mother was a Turian who had worked with Saren before he found Sovereign, one thing lead to another and ten months later I was conceived." Trajure explained. "Well that was what my mother told me about my father anyway, I've never met the man himself so I guess you could say I was his illegitimate offspring."

"As interesting as this is don't we have a Space Station to take over?" Hrasus asked.

"True, so what's the plan?" Sheppard asked.

"My Blood Pack forces will attack Afterlife first, we'll take out anyone in our path and clear it out for the Blue Suns and you four, Trajure can tell you the rest." Hrasus said.

"Once the Blood Pack has done they're part that's where we'll come in, Hrasus will take Aria and Patriarch hostage and we'll let you two handle the rest." He said motioning to Ashley and Sheppard.

"Good, this means that we'll be there to kill them both." Ashley said.

"Don't you mean "you kill Aria whilst I personally take out Tsilani"?" Drakus said.

"Who?" Everyone accept Sheppard and Drakus asked.

"Patriarch, Tsilani is his real name." Drakus explained.

"Okay we'll do it that way, Hrasus you know what to do." Trajure said and Hrasus raised a hand to his earpiece.

"It's time." Hrasus said into the earpiece, a few seconds later he turned to Sheppard. "I'll go ahead and meet up with my men; I'll contact Trajure when the cost is clear." Hrasus said before leaving, a few minutes later Trajure got a call on his radio.

"Path has been cleared, who's up for kicking some ass?" Tajure's mandibles flared into a grin.

"Yeah, just as long as they are some ass for us to kick once you're done." Jenny replied.

"And leave the famous Commander Sheppard feeling left out? I wouldn't dream of beating you to the punch so to speak." Trajure said as he lead the Blue Suns and Sheppard's squad to the Afterlife entrance, they passed the panicking civilians and entered the nightclub, which was a mess, there where corpses of Aria's guards everywhere with a few Vorcha and Varren corpses dotted around. "Looks like the surprise attack worked better than expected." Trajure said as Hrasus came around the corner that lead to the stairwell that lead to Aria's quarters.

"Aria wasn't here when I came for her; someone must've tipped her off." Hrasus said and Ashley looked in Jenny's direction.

"Don't look at me, I was with you guys the whole time remember?" Jenny said putting her hands up in defence.

"Regardless it'll be best if we split up, me, Hrasus, the remaining Blood Pack and the Blue Suns troops will take the lower levels Sheppard's squad will check the rest of Omega." Trajure said.

"Right, we'll keep in radio contact if we find Aria or Patriarch or both, you do the same." Sheppard said.

"You got it." Hrasus said.

"What he said." Trajure said and Sheppard's squad left Afterlife.

"Ashley, you and Drakus check the Apartments and Markets, me and Jenny will check the hangers." Sheppard said.

"You got it commander, we'll be in touch." Ashley said as she and Drakus went towards the Apartments and Jenny and Sheppard went towards the hanger area.

"See anything Jenny?" Sheppard asked as he looked around.

"Not much save for the occasional Batarian delinquent and exiled Quarian." Jenny said looking around, she heard voices coming from around the corner and looked, it was Aria and Patriarch.

"Come on already we have to get out of here." Aria said through gritted teeth.

"I told you smuggling that weapons tech was bound to get the attention of the SPECTRES." Patriarch said.

"This really isn't the time Patriarch, Hrasus warned us about the attack on Afterlife and if we hurry we can get out of here before....."

"Don't count on it." Jenny interrupted drawing her gun on Aria and Patriarch, Aria laughed.

"Kid, you have five minutes before you're reminded why Omega's one rule is to not fuck with me, don't think I won't have my men open fire." Aria said as her men drew they're weapons.

"Think again Aria." Sheppard said as he came around the corner, the guards panicked.

"She's with Sheppard?" A Batarian guard said.

"Screw this; we don't get paid enough for this." A Turian guard said as he and the other guards left, one quick radio call later and Ashley and Drakus joined them.

"So what's this I here about Hrasus tipping you off?" Jenny asked and Patriarch laughed.

"Kid, don't believe what the offspring of a fool tells you, the Blood Pack are nothing on Omega and it doesn't matter who's leading them." Patriarch said.

"Hrasus is delusional and a power hungry, we offered him a place at the top of the food chain here in exchange for warning us of any attacks." Aria continued before being mowed down by Drakus' shotgun.

"It's your turn Patriarch, you have no idea how long I've waited for this day." Drakus said reloading his shotgun. "This is for stabbing me in the back." Drakus fired his gun but Patriarch dogged and got his own gun out, however Jenny was quick to use her biotics suspending him with her pull ability. "Appreciate the help McKansa."

"Thanks but can you hurry things along, my biotics aren't used to suspending someone this big." Jenny admitted.

"You got it." Drakus said firing his gun taking Patriarch's head clean off, she dropped the biotic field.

"Trajure, it's Sheppard, Hrasus ratted us out and Patriarch and Aria almost escaped." Sheppard said into his earpiece.

"Got it Sheppard but we already knew that, Hrasus had his thugs attack us but we took them out Hrasus included." Trajure said in reply.

"Well that's both candidates for Leader of Omega dead, so who'll run it now?" Sheppard asked.

"I will." Trajure replied. "I have experience on my side and I'll only engage in victimless crimes like Weapons Smuggling, not to mention change Omega's Number 1 Rule from "Don't Fuck with Aria" to "Don't Fuck with the Blue Suns" Trajure said getting a laugh out of Sheppard.

"One problem though, Hrasus said that if we put the Omega Blood Pack in charge of Omega than he said that he'll get the terminus systems races to help in the Reaper War....." Sheppard said.

"I'll see what I can do about that but there are so many races out here that it won't be easy, I'll e-mail you to let you know how it turns out." Trajure reassured them before cutting off.

"Well Sheppard, you helped me with my mission so I guess I'll be helping you with yours once again." Ashley said with a smile.

"Yeah, oh and just a warning we have a Batarian and a Geth onboard the Normandy but they're on our side." Sheppard said and Ashley gave him a funny look.

"You're kidding right?"

"He isn't." Jenny and Drakus said simultaneously.

"Well I suppose weirder things have happened." Ashley said with a shrug. "What's our next move?"

"We're heading to the Citadel to pick up a Turian and then to the Eagle Nebula to pick up a SPECTRE." Sheppard said as they entered the ship.

"There's going to be two SPECTRES working together? Huh, guess there's a first time for everything." Ashley commented and Drakus shook his head.

"Not exactly, it was a very common occurrence during the Rachni Wars and the Krogan Rebellions, only reason it doesn't happen nowadays can be summed up in three words, threats not big enough." Drakus said.

"That was four words Drakus." Jenny corrected him.

"I stand corrected." Drakus admitted.

"Guess the Reaper threat is a big enough threat for it to happen." Sheppard added.

"Hey Commander." Jacob Taylor greeted as they walked past him, "I got a message from The Illusive Man; he said to contact him ASAP." Sheppard frowned.

"I thought I made it clear to him that I was done with Cerberus." Sheppard said.

"That's what I told him in my reply but he replied back saying that he had found something big, concerning the Reaper Threat." This caught Sheppard's attention.

"Thanks Jacob, I'll get in contact with him soon." Sheppard said as Jacob walked off only to stop when he saw Ashley.

"Good to see you again Williams, you'll be an asset to the team." Jacob said and Ashley smiled.

"Likewise Taylor, how have you been?" Ashley asked.

"Good, stopped an assassination attempt on the Council and wiped out the Collectors so I can't really complain." Jacob said before walking off.

"You know him?" Sheppard asked.

"I'm sure he's told you that he was on Eden Prime, we had a brief romantic fling but it didn't last, as you can see we're still friends." Ashley said.

"Even with Fraternisation rules in place?" Sheppard asked.

"Actually that was the reason we broke of the relationship, we didn't want our personal feelings getting in the way of our duties." Ashley explained. "Regardless I'll be in the Armoury if you need me Commander." Ashley said before walking off.

"And you know where to find us likewise." Drakus said as he and Jenny left.

"Joker, plot a course for the Citadel." Sheppard said to the pilot.

"Aye, aye commander, ETA is 4 and a half days."

"It was 3 and a half last time." Sheppard commented.

"We have to refuel first." Joker answered.

"Good, let me know when we're about to leave." Sheppard instructed before heading to the briefing room that was nowadays used to communicate with the Council and accessed the Illusive Man's channel, he stepped on the projector and found himself face to face with the enigmatic leader of Cerberus.

"Sheppard, I'm sure I am the last person you want to see right now but the information I have is of grave importance." The Illusive Man said taking a puff of his cigarette.

"That's correct, Jacob told me that the info you had was important otherwise I wouldn't of bothered calling you." Sheppard said folding his arms.

"I assure you that this is worthy of you're time Sheppard. Do you remember the system that Healstrum is in?" Sheppard frowned.

"Yes, its sun is aging at a much faster rate than it should, what about it?" Sheppard said remembering how that system's sun had made Tali's recruitment mission extremely difficult for him, Zeead and Grunt.

"The Quarians aren't exactly the first species to notice it, an Alliance Science team has been studying that system's sun for the past four years or so and they have made an incredible discovery. Tali's theory about Dark Energy was indeed correct but the cause of it is even more astonishing, the team discovered an ancient Mass Relay deep within the core of the sun, by analyzing the energy emanating from the Relay they discovered that it links to one place......"

"Dark Space." Sheppard's eyes narrowed.

"Indeed, unfortunately we can't destroy the relay without destroying the sun it's self which is damn near imposable with conventional weaponry, the Alliance is suppressing the story at the moment and the only reason I know about it is because I have someone on the inside of that Alliance Science Team." Sheppard frowned.

"How did they find out about the Mass Relay within the sun's core?" The Illusive Man took a shot of Serice Ice Brandy before continuing.

"Latest advancements in Planet Scan Technology, using the new technology they can scan the core of planets using highly advanced probes, unfortunately the technology is still in it's developing stages and it's being tested on Suns to see if it will have any negative effects on the star it's self."

"Which is how they found the Mass Relay, how is that thing not being incinerated within the Sun's Core?" Sheppard asked.

"The exact same technology that kept the derelict reaper in orbit above the Brown Dwarf, but that's not the only reason for our little meeting." The Illusive Man answered.

"What do you mean?" Sheppard asked.

"I mean that shortly after discovering the Mass Relay the Alliance Science Team stopped reporting in." Sheppard frowned.

"That could mean a whole number of things, they where attacked by a Geth Cruiser, a Reaper discovered them and either destroyed them or indoctrinating them." The Illusive Man nodded grimly.

"Quite frankly I don't know which possibility is worse, might be worth having a look next time you have the chance." Sheppard nodded.

"I'll look but not because I owe you for bringing me back to life but rather as a favour to the Alliance." Sheppard said.

"I understand Sheppard; I've already forwarded the Ship's name to Joker so the rest is up to you, good luck." The Illusive Man said before cutting off.

"Joker, tell the whole squad to meet me in the conference room for an emergency meeting." Sheppard said.

"You got it Commander." Joker said, Sheppard went down to the Crew Quarters and to the Conference room where the other crew members where sat and relayed the information from the Illusive Man to them.

"There's a Mass Relay within the Sun's Core? Normally I'd recommend treatment for mental illness for whoever said that but given the fact that we're dealing with The Reapers I shouldn't be surprised." Garrus commented.

"I wasn't aware that the Alliance was conducting its own experiments on that System's Sun when I was on Healstrum but they're findings do match the data I collected whilst I was down there." Tali added.

"Not to mention the fact that several good men and women could be dead or worse." Marcus said shaking his head.

"Aren't we forgetting who gave us the info in the first place? No offence Commander but I don't trust the Illusive Man's word." Ashley said folding her arms.

"Neither do I Ash but for now this is the best lead we have on The Reapers." Sheppard said with a frown.

"What's our next step Commander?" Jacob asked.

"We're going to the Citadel and after that we're heading to the Eagle Nebula." Sheppard said.

"And after that we're heading to the Far Rim cluster I'm assuming." Garrus asked.

"Yes, that is all, dismissed." Sheppard said and the crew members left, as Sheppard left he found Dsrondo waiting for him outside the conference room.

"Commander, I have an urgent matter to attend to and I need your help on it." Sheppard invited him into the conference room for some privacy.

"What do you need?" Sheppard asked as the conference room door closed behind them.

"As I mentioned when we met on Earth not all Batarians support the Slave Trade, some see it as a barbaric practice that's only allowed to happen on Batarian colonies and the homeworld because it's a key part of the economy, myself included." Dsrondo said pacing back and forth. "I have just received word that a notorious Batarian slave ring is planning a Slave Grab on the Human Colony of Feros." Sheppard's eyes narrowed.

"I went there during my war against Saren, is it customary for Batarians to receive notifications of slave grabs?" Dsrondo nodded grimly.

"I'm sure you have heard that non combatants aren't allowed to leave the Batarian homeworld due to our paranoid government." Sheppard nodded. "Obviously I'm not a non combatant otherwise I'd be working a 9 to 5 job on the homeworld, they send notifications to any mercenaries, pirates or slavers in the nearby area to see if they want a part of it, in this past I deleted those in e-mails and prayed to Mgsoffa that the poor bastards on those colonies wouldn't suffer to much."

"Mgsoffa, is that some kind of deity?" Sheppard said after having some trouble pronouncing the name.

"Yes, Mgsoffa is the goddess of Love and Mercy in the Batarian's main religion; I think it's pretty obvious which part I've been praying too." Dsrondo confirmed. "Don't worry about your difficulty pronouncing the name either; Mgsoffa is the easiest Batarian Deity name to pronounce which is why it's typically the first one a child learns about." Dsrondo shook his head. "That's beside the point; point is that now I can do something about it and stop the slave raid."

"We'll be there, guaranteed, obviously the mission comes first though." Dsrondo nodded in understanding.

"There's one other thing, I believe you are familiar with the man that's organised the slave raid, Balak." Sheppard's eyes narrowed.

"That son of a bitch nearly destroyed Terra Nova; I only let him go in order to save the workers from his bombs." Sheppard said anger clear in his voice.

"That's merciful of you, Balak is near the top of the Citadel Council's most wanted list as a result of the failed attack on Terra Nova which is why he went underground after escaping, and why he's suddenly popped up again is anyone's guess." Dsrondo said.

"When's the raid taking place?" Sheppard asked.

"Next week, giving us plenty of time to prepare and recruit." Dsrondo said.

"Soon as we've recruited the people we're picking up at the Citadel and at the Eagle Nebula we'll go to Feros, I'll see if I can get the council to assist given Balak's notoriety." Dsrondo nodded in approval.

"Good plan, I doubt they'll be expecting that much heavy resistance." Dsrondo said. "Somehow I doubt they'll except if they knew who you got the info from." Sheppard already knew the answer to that.

"I'll tell them that I got the information from a confidential informant." Dsrondo smiled.

"You're very thorough Commander, I should return to my duties." Dsrondo said walking off.

"Joker, patch me through to the Council." Sheppard said as he approached the com unit that he used to contact the council when he was in the conference room.

"You got it Commander." Joker said and soon the council appeared alongside Udina.

"Hello again Commander, I see that whilst the mission to assist Williams with her mission didn't go as expected we have someone the council can trust in Aria's place." The Asari councillor greeted.

"Not to mention the fact that Williams is now a member of your crew." Anderson added.

"Yes but that wasn't why I called you, I have found out via a confidential informant that the human colony of Feros is going to be attacked by Slavers." Sheppard stated.

"No offence Commander but why should the Council worry about the colony on Feros?" The Turian councillor asked.

"Because of who's organised it, Balak." The council members tensed up upon hearing that name.

"Is this the same Balak who nearly dropped an Asteroid onto Terra Nova?" Udina asked with disgust in his voice, Sheppard nodded confirming the council's worst fears.

"Why would he come out of hiding for a simple Slave Raid?" The Salarian councillor asked.

"I don't know but with the Informant's information I hope to put an end to it before it can begin." Sheppard said.

"Due to Balak's notoriety we will send a small fleet of Council Ships lead by The Salarian Special Tasks Group to assist you in this matter." The Asari councillor replied. "This may be the best chance we'll ever have to bring that monster to justice."

"Agreed, tell the fleet that the Normandy SR2 will meet them near the relay that leads to the system that Feros is in one week from today." The councillors nodded and cut off.


	9. Citadel

Jenny's eyes darted between the cards in her hand and the other crew members, it had been four and a half days since Ashley's recruitment and whilst things where still rocky between the two women they were still getting along.

"_The fact that she's screwing Sheppard helps."_ Jenny thought to herself, they had been doing various things to pass the time whilst the Autopilot drove the ship to the Citadel and the latest idea, courtesy of Ashley, was playing Texas Holdem Poker in the conference room though it was only with fake poker chips and was purely for fun though that didn't stop Jenny from being competitive and winning.

"Come on Garrus, it's your bloody move already!" Zeead said impatiently, Garrus was taking a long time to complete his move and the other crewmembers were getting inpatient, Jenny included.

"Patience is a virtue Zeead." Garrus said. "One virtue that you seem to lack, but you seem to desperately need." Garrus muttered the last part.

"I heard that Garrus!" Zeead said.

"Fine, fine, I call Grunt's move and it's your move McKansa." Garrus said putting a small amount of chips, Sheppard, who was serving as the Dealer, put another card down and Jenny barely managed to contain her grin.

"_A Straight to Ten, YES! It's another win for me!" _Jenny thought with a grin as she put all her chips down. "I'm going all in." She said getting odd looks from the other crew members.

"It's your loss McKansa!" Marcus said.

"We'll see about that!" Jenny said. "You're move Samara."

"I'm afraid that I must fold." Samara said almost immediately.

"I must fold as well." Dsrondo grumbled.

"Suit yourselves but I'm going all in!" Marcus said putting his chips down.

"You're loss Marcus!" Jenny said.

"We'll see about that McKansa, your move Donnelly." Marcus said.

"Three can play at that game guys, I'm going all in as well." Donnelly said putting his chips down, everyone else chose to fold and it came down to Jenny, Marcus and Donnelly.

"Read them and weep boys!"Jenny said revealing her Straight to Ten.

"Ah damn it! All I've got is a pair of aces!" Donnelly said throwing his cards down.

"Looks like I win again." Jenny said but Marcus shook his head.

"It's not healthy to jump to conclusions McKansa." Marcus said revealing his hand, a straight to queen. "Especially when you're about to lose, that's your winning streak broken." Jenny's jaw dropped.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Jenny said.

"I'm afraid not, so are you going to hand over your chips or be a sore loser?" Marcus asked and Jenny begrudgingly handed over her chips.

"Celebrate your win whilst you can, I'll have my revenge in the next round." Jenny said.

"I'm sorry to interject but wasn't this supposed to be for fun?" Mordin pointed out.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I can't be competitive about it." Jenny replied as Sheppard starting shuffling the cards again.

"Commander, we are about to dock with the Citadel." EDI interrupted.

"Thanks EDI, everyone back to your stations, its business as usual from here on out." Jenny groaned. "Well except for Legion and Garrus, you two are accompanying me to the Citadel."

"Acknowledged." Legion said standing up.

"What he.....she......do Geth even have Genders?" Garrus asked before pausing. "That wins the award for the one thing a former C-Sec officer thought he'd never say under any circumstances!"

"I'm sure I can think of plenty of other things." Jenny said before standing up and leaving the conference room.

Garrus, Legion and Sheppard left the conference room once everyone else had left and headed for the elevator and entered, once they were in the elevator Legion turned to Sheppard.

"Sheppard Commander, can you tell this unit who we're picking up?" Legion asked.

"Lantar Sidonis, Turian, used to work for C-Sec and for Garrus' unit on Omega." Sheppard answered.

"That was until he betrayed my team when he was threatened with his life by the Mercenary scum on Omega." Garrus added.

"As you can tell saying Garrus doesn't get along with him is a big understatement but we need his skills to aid in the Reaper fight." Sheppard added as the elevator arrived at the CIC and they stepped out and got off the Normandy just as Joker arrived in the elevator alongside Jacob, Ashley and Marcus, they were greeted at C-Sec by Captain Bailey and Kolyat, Thane's son who was wearing a C-Sec officer's uniform.

"Good to see you again Sheppard, pity this isn't a social trip as my shift's about to end and I was considering buying you a beer for getting the council's heads out off their asses." Sheppard grinned.

"I'll hold you to that Bailey, and by "not a social visit" I take it you mean that you've been briefed on who we're here for?" Sheppard asked and he nodded.

"Tell you the truth we were going to release Sidonis anyway, true his actions lead to the deaths of eleven men but those deaths where on Omega, way out of our jurisdiction and since Omega doesn't have a titled ruler we can't extradite him either." Bailey said shaking his head. "Reason we're doing it out here and not at my desk is because an old friend of ours is having a rally on the other side of the scanners."

"Let me guess, Talid?" Sheppard asked shaking his head; he regretted not letting Kolyat kill the politician/criminal during Thane's loyalty mission when he saw Talid talking about how Sheppard only saved him to make humanity look good.

"Yeah, that son of a bitch was giving me a headache!" Bailey said shaking his head; it was then that he got a call on his earpiece. "Bailey......what, tell Talid and his followers that if the demands aren't met we'll arrest them, tried that already? Oh great." Bailey turned to Sheppard. "We've got a problem; Talid is having his followers interfere with Sidonis' transfer, something about C-Sec selling him into slavery."

"That's only insulting, it's slanderous." Garrus pointed out. "You'd think Talid would know that slavery's illegal on the Citadel."

"We'll take care of it, Kolyat come with us, maybe seeing you again will scare him off." Kolyat nodded and followed Sheppard through the scanners and into the main part of the Citadel, it's pure chaos as Talid directed traffic, Sheppard fired his gun into the air scaring of the protesters.

"Commander Sheppard? What the hell are you doing here?" Talid asked before spotting Kolyat. "AHHHHH, keep him away from me!"

"I will the moment you stop interfering in C-Sec business." Talid frowned.

"When an innocent Turian is being sold into slavery I make it my business." Sheppard shook his head though he could've sworn he heard Garrus mutter "bullshit" under his breath.

"Two things, number 1, you of all should now that slavery is illegal on the Citadel and I have a former C-Sec officer with me right now and he doesn't take to kindly to C-Sec's good name being tarnished by allegations of Slavery, number 2, I'm a SPECTRE and if I wanted to I could gun you down right now without any consequences." Sheppard said angrily.

"Are you making threats? This is just another reason why human dominance is a bad thing! You won't be making threats from the other side of....." Talid never finished as Sheppard shot him in the head with his pistol.

"I should've done that when Kolyat was going to assassinate you! Sheppard said coldly as the four C-Sec officers emerged, two to get the body to the morgue and two to bring Sidonis to Sheppard.

"I appreciate the help, say what you will about him but he was a charismatic leader who knew how to rally a crowd." Bailey said as Sidonis was brought forward by a Salarian and a Turian C-Sec officer.

"Commander Sheppard? When I heard your voice I thought you were here to finish the job!" Lantar said.

"No such luck, we need you for a mission of Galactic Importance." Sheppard said.

"Much as I hate to admit it, he's right Sidonis." Garrus added.

"If this is my chance to make up to you Garrus then what choice do I have?" Sidonis said and the C-Sec officers let go.

"This is more than your chance to make it up to me Sidonis, it's a chance to make it up to the 11 men who are in unmarked graves on Omega because you broke you're Turian responsibility." Garrus said.

"I'll brief you on the Normandy Sidonis, for now you can come with us." Sheppard said.

"Wait." Kolyat said and Sheppard turned to him. "I wish for a chance to speak with my father."

"I'll send him down immediately Kolyat." Sheppard assured him before putting a hand to his earpiece. "Joker, send Thane to meet us outside the C-Sec office on the wards, Kolyat wants to talk to him, and everyone else is on shore leave for the rest of the day."

"WOOO, SHORE LEAVE!!!!! Huh, oh right Thane, I'll send him down ASAP." Joker replied. For the next few minutes the happy crew of the Normandy piled out of the ship some taking the time to thank Sidonis for the day off and Thane joined them last.

"Kolyat, I see that you are making something of yourself." Thane said with a smile.

"I can't complain father." Kolyat shrugged.

"I'll get you two a private room." Bailey said leading them off.

"Sidonis, wait for me on the Normandy." Sheppard said.

"Sure, I'll probably see what I can do in the Armoury." Sidonis said walking off.

"Sheppard Commander, I will join Sidonis Lantar on the ship." Legion said walking off.

"Guess that just leaves us!" Garrus said with a grin.

"Unfortunately for you the Shore Leave won't be fun and games for us, I have another issue to address here." Sheppard said.

"So why did you announce the shore leave?" Garrus asked.

"Figured that the crew could use a break, come on!" Sheppard said walking off with Garrus.


	10. Shore Leave

"So Sheppard, would you care to share who we are meeting with?" Garrus said as the two men stepped onto the rebuilt Presidium, most of the buildings had been repaired but there were still some buildings (the former Asari Consort Chambers for example) that needed extensive repairs.

"We're meeting with Anderson at the Embassy lounge." Sheppard said. "I've arranged for the Normandy's weapons and armours to be upgraded and I want him to confirm what the Illusive Man told me."

"So that's the real reason for the Shore Leave?" Garrus asked.

"If I wanted all the crew of the Normandy Sidonis and Legion would've joined us, Legion was told of the upgrades in advance and Sidonis knows better than to interfere in Alliance business." Sheppard answered.

"Good point, what about Thane?" Garrus asked.

"To be honest I wasn't anticipating Kolyat wanting to talk to Thane but he's on shore leave like everyone else." Sheppard answered as they entered the Embassy Lounge, Anderson waved them over and they joined them at his table.

"Sheppard, Garrus, it's good to see you both." Anderson greeted his old friends.

"Likewise Anderson, how's life as the Human Council member treating you?" Garrus said sitting down.

"I can't complain, besides we all know that this is more than a social visit." Anderson said.

"Right, let's talk about the upgrades you arranged first." Sheppard said.

"I've arranged for the best engineers to install the best tech available on the Normandy, if this doesn't help you prepare for the Reapers I'll eat Joker's hat." Anderson said.

"I'll be sure to let him know that you said that." Sheppard replied with a smile. "Can you go into more detail about the weapons and armour?"

"The Turians and the Asari have been co-developing an upgrade for the Thanix cannon, the end result is a gun that makes the original gun look like a toy with no changes to the Power Draw, I have the schematics for the gun if you're interested." Anderson said giving the two of them the schematics.

"Impressive, how long will it take for this to be installed.

"Two to three hours give or take, the Armour we're installing is called the Driania armour, it's developed by the Rachni." Sheppard and Garrus looked at him in surprise.

"The Rachni, are they a council race now?" Sheppard asked and he nodded.

"The Rachni queen's story garnered them the sympathy of most of the council races and were granted a small embassy on the Citadel, it's currently occupied by that Asari they saved since the Rachni are unable to talk, she was the one that brought the armour to my attention." Anderson said.

"You have the schematics for that as well?" Anderson nodded and handed over the schematics.

"It's extremely durable but not invincible; it'll take some serious firepower to even make a dent in the Normandy once the Armour is installed." Anderson said.

"How long will that take to install?" Sheppard asked.

"Two hours tops." Anderson said.

"What about the Engine Core?" Garrus asked.

"The Multi-Core shielding you already installed is some of the best available, as a result it's a simple matter of reinforcing that shielding and as a result it'll take the least amount of time to install it, a little over an hour and a half to be precise, we're also upgrading the tech lab so that should make your Salarian friend happy."

"Good, speaking of science there's the other thing I wanted to talk about." Sheppard said.

"Ah yes, the Alliance Science Team in the Far Rim cluster, I may not like him but The Illusive Man's Intel is correct, both about the Science Team's discovery and the fact that we've lost contact with them." Anderson said shaking his head. "I'd hate to imagine what has happened to them but for now we have no leads and it's too risky." Anderson said.

"Risky is my middle name, I'll be investigating it soon." Sheppard said.

"I know that Commander, but be careful, we have no idea what you might find out there." Anderson said. "Also I thought you should now that the Fleet that will meet you near the Relay leading to the Feros is requesting that you bring each and every one of your crew along as we have no idea how much manpower Balak has."

"Thank you Anderson and I will." Sheppard said standing up with Garrus and walking out off the bar.

"Balak's back? What does that bastard want with Feros?" Garrus asked once they were out of the bar.

"I don't know, it was Dsrondo that gave me the Intel and apparently it's just a slave raid but Charn said the same thing about the attack on Asteroid X57." Sheppard answered.

"With Balak involved it's bound to be more than just a simple slave raid." Garrus pointed out.

"The council agrees Garrus and due to Balak's notoriety they're sending a small portion of the council fleet lead by the STG to assist us." Sheppard said.

"Good, so what now?" Garrus asked.

"I'll head back to the Normandy; you'll enjoy the rest of your day off." Sheppard answered and Garrus grinned.

"You bet your ass I will!" Garrus answered walking off towards the wards.

"Remember, if you run into any trouble give me a call." Sheppard called.

"You got it, you want me to relay the information about Balak to any other crew members I find?" Garrus asked.

"They might believe it better if they hear it from me, no offence." Sheppard answered.

"None taken, I'll see you back on the Normandy." Garrus said walking off.

"I will do." Sheppard said walking off, he went to the rapid transet and boarded the Normandy, he entered the Normandy and to his surprise he saw Jenny resting in a chain usually occupied by the staff of the CIC. "You got here fast." Jenny turned around.

"What can I say? I got bored." She shrugged. "Besides I only went to one place."

"Where was that?" Sheppard asked.

"Music shop on the wards, I brought some Metal albums." She shrugged.

"Then why are you tired?" Sheppard asked.

"Why? It's because I had to leave the Zakara wards to find a music shop that carried Heavy Metal albums." Jenny admitted. "At least I know where to look next time I'm on the Citadel."

"Yeah well, just be down on in the Crew Quarters by the time the other members of the crew arrive, anyone else here?" Sheppard asked.

"You mean besides Legion and the new guy? Ashley and Jacob arrived shortly after I did and Drakus and Grunt arrived soon after that." Jenny said.

"Thanks, and enjoy your new CDS." Sheppard said.

"Considering the lengths I went to get them they had better be worth it." She replied and Sheppard went into the armoury and saw Jacob and Ashley.

"Hi Commander and thanks again for the day off." Jacob said.

"No problem Jacob, you enjoy it?" Jacob shook his head.

"Let's face it, there's not much to do on the Citadel though I am thinking about hitting the clubs a bit later." Jacob admitted.

"What about you Ashley?" Sheppard asked.

"I'm in the same boat as Jacob to be honest, not much to do on the Citadel." Ashley shrugged. "Not that I'm complaining about the day off or anything."

"Glad you enjoyed it, where are Grunt and Drakus?" Jacob shrugged.

"I think I saw them heading to the engineering deck." Jacob shrugged.

"Thanks." Sheppard said leaving but before he could pay the Krogans a visit a message came to him over the transmitter.

"Sheppard, it's Dsrondo, me, Garrus and Marcus has run into a bit of trouble on the Presidium." Dsrondo said.

"Is it because you are a Batarian? No offence." Sheppard asked.

"No, I actually thought that myself, some duct rats where causing trouble for Joker and we intervened, only for C-Sec to mistakenly arrest Joker for causing the incident." Dsrondo said.

"Why can't you bail him out?" Sheppard asked.

"Well have you heard of the strip club they built in the place of Choras Den?" Sheppard shook his head.

"You mean to tell me that a respected Alliance veteran, a deadly ex C-Sec officer and a feared Batarian Mercenary wasted all there credits in a strip club?" Sheppard asked shaking his head.

"Well......look just bail Joker out already." Dsrondo said before hanging up, Sheppard sighed and left the Normandy seeing that the upgrades were well under way and saw Mordin on his way to the Normandy.

"Sheppard, thank you again for the day off, very enjoyable." Mordin said.

"No problem."

"Hmmm, are you upgraded the Normandy? Excellent, should be helpful against The Reapers! Can I help?" Mordin asked.

"In what way would you help?" Sheppard asked.

"Not sure, probably help the engineers from the Tech Lab." Sheppard frowned.

"Sorry, that's also being upgraded." Sheppard said.

"Oh, excellent, the Tech Lab where already impressive but the upgrade should help immensely!" Sheppard smiled as the Salarian entered the Normandy, once Mordin was in the Normandy he made his way back to C-Sec and went up to Bailey.

"Sheppard, I didn't expect to see you again so soon." Bailey said looking up.

"And like my last visit this isn't a social one, I understand that a man named Jeff Monroe was arrested for causing a public disturbance." Sheppard said.

"Ah yeah, he's got quite a mouth on him." Bailey chuckled.

"Tell me about it, anyway he's my ship's pilot and therefore I'm here to bail him out." Sheppard said reaching for his credit chit but Bailey shook his head.

"Save your cash Sheppard, we can't hold him anyway due to lack of evidence, not to mention he's accusing us of police brutality when the officers were just following normal procedure." Sheppard sighed.

"Have you heard of Vrollik's Syndrome?" Sheppard asked and Bailey nodded.

"You mean brittle bone disease? Yeah, I've heard of it, what about it?" Bailey asked.

"Jeff has brittle bone disease." Bailey winced.

"Ah, that might explain his claims of police brutality." Bailey said.

"Gee, you think?" Joker said as he was lead out of the interrogation room. "Oh, hi Commander!" Jeff said with a sweet smile.

"Joker, just get back on the Normandy." Sheppard said.

"Aye, aye Commander." Joker said walking off.

"Joker?" Bailey asked.

"Nickname he's had since flight school." Sheppard explained.

"I see, well next time you're on the Citadel I'd like to buy you a drink when I'm not on duty so see you then." Sheppard grinned.

"You got it Bailey and thanks." Sheppard walked off not knowing that someone.....or something was watching from the shadows.

"Wait my pet." Harbinger's "voice" commanded the shadowy figure. "We will deal with Sheppard soon enough." The figure disappeared from sight.


	11. The Spectre and the Mercanary

"Commander, we're about to land on Erinie." Joker's voice called over the PA System, the day off had came and went as fast as it was announced for the majority of the crew and apart from Joker's arrest not much had happened save for Jacob's hangover and the teasing looks Marcus, Garrus and Dsrondo where getting from the female members of the crew, right now though they're priority was recruiting the SPECTRE Agent Tidosis Mirani.

"Thanks Joker, tell Dsrondo and Jenny to meet me at the hanger." Sheppard said.

"Commander there's something you should know." EDI chimed in. "I am detecting life signs on an otherwise uncharted world and there are ships down there that match the signatures of those used by the Eclipse and Blue Suns mercenary group." Sheppard frowned.

"What do they want with an uncharted world?" Sheppard asked.

"Good question though Purgatory was orbiting this planet, it's possible that the mercenary groups are looking for salvage." Joker suggested.

"It doesn't matter because either way the two groups are unknown variables and we don't know if we can trust them." Sheppard said with a frown.

"I agree with Joker's theory about wreckage from Purgatory." Sheppard turned around and saw Dsrondo and Jenny standing there. "The Blue Suns invested a lot of money into the space station and they lost a lot of money when it crashed."

"Alright, we're going in; see you when I get back Joker."

Minutes later Jenny and Dsrondo got off the shuttle and touched ground on Erinie, Sheppard looked around and saw wreckage from the Purgatory ship all around them.

"Careful, this is an uncharted world and god knows what we might find down here." Sheppard warned his companions.

"Not that that stopped the Blue Suns or the Eclipse." Jenny replied.

"FREEZE!" They turned around and saw a small squad of Blue Suns Mercs, the merc that had issued the order, a Batarian, stepped forward. "Identify yourselves.

"You identify yourself first." Sheppard answered.

"We don't answer to you human and you have five minutes to get back on that shuttle before my men gun you....." The Batarian never finished as he was killed by a Sniper Shot to the head.

"What the hell?" Another Blue Suns merc, a Human, yelled out but he was taken out by the same sniper, soon every merc in that band was dead.

"Sorry to interrupt the party Sheppard." A Female sounding Turian voice rang out and the mystery sniper revealed herself, it was a female Turian, tall and slender with greyish scales.

"Tidoses Mirani?" Sheppard asked.

"Yes, it is an honour to finally meet you Sheppard." Tidoses greeted shaking the Commander's hand. "Who are these two?" Tidoses asked motioning to Jenny and Dsrondo.

"This is Jenny McKansa and Dsrondo Batalic, they're members of my crew." Dsrondo nodded to Tidoses out of respect and Jenny tensed up.

"Is there something wrong child?" Tidoses asked.

"Her family doesn't exactly have the best history with the Turians." Sheppard explained.

"Ah, I thought I recognised the name from somewhere, your grandfather betrayed the Alliance to the Turians during the Relay 314 incident." Tidoses said.

"Yeah and it's because the Turians ratted him out that I'm not so quick to trust you." Jenny replied.

"I understand child, but I do hope to earn your trust." Tidoses said.

"So, what brings a SPECTRE here?" Dsrondo asked.

"The Blue Suns have rebuilt Purgatory on this planet, however due to the death of Warden Kurit and Vido Santiago no world is willing to pay for their criminals to be there so instead they use it as the headquarters for their slave raiding operations. Normally this wouldn't be worthy of the attention of the SPECTRES but....."

"Let me guess, they're using SPECTRE tech." Sheppard said.

"Yes, and whilst the operation has been shut down there are some lose ends we need to tie up, like the rebuilt Purgatory." Tidoses said. "My mission is to eliminate the Blue Suns, blow up the Purgatory prison and free all captured slaves and return them to their homes, unfortunately until you arrived the last part was going to be imposable."

"What do you mean?" Dsrondo asked.

"They shot down my ship and I barely made it out alive." Tidoses said motioning to the Wreckage with her sniper rifle.

"We can use the Normandy SR2 to return the Slaves to they're homes." Sheppard said. "But I also need you for a mission of Galactic Importance."

"The Reapers." Tidoses said. "No need to fill me in Commander, the council briefed me on the specifics before I came here."

"So you're willing to help?" Dsrondo said. "And you were expecting us?"

"Indeed, and whilst I wasn't expecting to be working with a Batarian I was also briefed on the current crew members." Tidoses said.

"What about the Eclipse? Do you have any idea why they're here?" Sheppard asked.

"I wasn't even aware that they were here but if they are here then I don't know if I can trust them." Tidoses replied.

"That's the same stance I'm taking but if they're fighting the Blue Suns maybe aligning with them will be in our best interests." Sheppard said.

"Indeed, for now we move towards Purgatory, follow me." Tidoses said and they headed north, they continued walking for a couple of hours before they came across a large band of Eclipse Mercs.

"Halt who goes there, friend or foe?" A Salarian said as the squad pointing their guns at Sheppard's crew.

"If you're fighting against the Blue Suns then we are your allies, if not then you're our enemies." Jenny said stepping forward but the Eclipse mercs didn't step down.

"Hold it." A Human male Mercenary with a Scottish accent said getting in between the two groups.

"Zach, what are you doing? I made it clear that I was running this operation." The Salarian said.

"_Zach? Wait is he....._" Jenny thought.

"We can trust these guys if there fighting The Blue Suns." Zach pointed out.

"Hmmm, I suppose that's true enough, stand down men." The Salarian said and the Eclipse holstered they're guns.

"Smart choice, otherwise you would've had to deal with two SPECTRE agents." The Salarian gulped.

"Long time no see sis." Zach said to Jenny removing his helmet as he did revealing short messy red hair and a matching goatee.

"You're her brother?" Sheppard asked surprised.

"Yeah, we just don't see each other that much due to our different lines of work." Zach said.

"That much is obvious but what are the Eclipse doing here Zach?" Jenny asked.

"The Blue Suns have captured a high ranking member of the Eclipse Mercenary group and are holding him in Purgatory; my squad's been given the task of getting him out alive." The Salarian answered.

"And I've been tasked with taking out the Blue Suns, blowing up Purgatory and rescuing any slaves inside, so yes we do have a common goal in mind." Tidoses said.

"Agreed, Purgatory is just a bit to the north of this position, problem is it's heavily fortified and the Blue Suns are armed to the teeth." The Salarian said.

"Not like that's ever stopped us in the past." Sheppard said.

"Yes, our plan is to have our resident tech specialist here disable the security systems remotely." The Salarian said motioning to another Salarian. "After that we go in and eliminate any resistance we encounter, extract the hostage and get the hell out of there."

"And that's where we come in; with the Blue Suns resistance gone it should be no trouble freeing the rest of the hostages." Dsrondo said and the Salarian chuckled. "What's so funny?"

"I apologize; I just never thought I'd see the day where a Batarian was against Slavery." That comment earned him a vicious punch from Dsrondo.

"Don't you dare stereotype me Salarian, you don't want to know how many ways I know how to kill people." Dsrondo growled.

"Stand down Dsrondo, they're our allies remember." Sheppard said and Dsrondo complied.

"You're lucky Sheppard's here." Dsrondo warned the Salarian.

"Yes well, I suppose we had better be on our way." The Salarian said quickly walking off with Zach and the rest of the Eclipse.

"Radio us when the cost is clear." Sheppard called after them.

"I'll make sure he does Sheppard." Zach replied.

"Can we trust them?" Dsrondo said once the mercs where out of earshot.

"I'm not sure; Jenny's brother seems pretty trust worthy but the Salarian that's leading the group on the other hand....." Sheppard said.

"Yeah, I don't trust him either." Tidoses confirmed. A few minutes later Sheppard got a call on his earpiece.

"Sheppard, its Jurdit, I'm the Salarian who's in charge of the Eclipse band, coast is clear you are free to free the slaves and blow this place sky high." The Salarian said.

"Roger that Jurdit, I'll see you at the Purgatory." Sheppard replied.

"Let's move out!" Tidoses said and they moved towards the Purgatory, the rebuilt Purgatory was a large, ominous looking building and out in front was a squad of Blue Suns mercs waiting for them with Jurdit standing out in front.

"What's the meaning of this?" Tidoses demanded.

"There was no high ranking official in this facility; this venture is a co op between the Blue Suns and The Eclipse."

"So why lead us to believe that there was?" Sheppard asked.

"Simple really, criminals understand one thing, respect, and imagine the respect that the Blue Suns and the Eclipse would get if word got out that we had been responsible for the deaths of two SPECTRE agents, including Commander Sheppard, off course there is also the issue of that bounty that the Blue Suns put on your head Dsrondo." Jurdit said before being suspended by Jenny's biotics.

"Where's my brother?" She growled.

"Inside, he refused to go along with the plan so we have imprisoned him with the other slaves." Jenny had heard enough and quickly put a bullet between Jurdit's eyes, the Blue Suns mercs were easily defeated.

"That takes care of him; we'd better go free Zach and the slaves." Sheppard said walking into the Purgatory, the living conditions in the cells made Omega look like a Paradise and Sheppard felt his skin crawl when he saw babies as being cared for by their parents in the cells. They quickly found Zach as he was in a cell with several slaves.

"I tried to get a message through to you guys but they took my earpiece." Zach admitted.

"Don't worry about it Zach, we're here to rescue you and the other slaves." Zach's cellmates looked up after hearing that.

"Guess that's the end of my career in the Eclipse." Zach said shaking his head. "I knew I should've stayed on Earth." He added as Tidoses opened the cell door.

"Don't beat yourself up over it, there's no way you could've known what Jurdit was planning." Tidoses reassured him as she opened the rest of the cells.

"What happened to the rest of the squad?" Dsrondo asked and Zach clenched his fists.

"That son of a bitch Jurdit lead them right into an ambush and let them die, if he isn't already dead I want a piece of him!" Zach said.

"Sorry bro, I beat you too it!" Jenny said with a grin.

"I should've known better." He grinned.

"What will you do now Zach?" Sheppard asked, before he could answer another squad of Blue Suns mercs burst through a nearby door.

"Gun down all the slaves, save Sheppard's squad for last!" A Turian commanded but Zach threw a singularity as the squad and nodded at Sheppard who gunned down the squad with ease.

"Impressive biotics, you'll be an asset to the squad." Dsrondo complemented. "That's if he joined of course."

"Well he's proven himself to be a good biotic but what other skills do you posses." Sheppard asked.

"He's a hell of a shot for one thing." Jenny chimed in.

"Ah great, know I've got my younger sister kissing my ass!" Zach joked and Jenny playfully stuck her tongue out at him in response.

"If Jenny vouches for him I don't see why not, Zach what do you know about The Reapers?" Sheppard asked.

"Not much Commander, all I've heard about them is isolated rumours." Zach answered.

"They're not rumours kid, and Sheppard needs the best of the best in order to combat them and based on what I've seen your skills are more than adequate." Dsrondo said.

"Ah hell, not every day that you get to work with a War Hero like Sheppard, I'm in." Zach said.

"Good, Tidoses, I believe you have a facility to blow up." Sheppard said as they left the building.

"Indeed, though I suggest we get the hell away from it first." Tidoses said, minutes later they saw the Purgatory building blow up from a nearby hill.

"Jenny, Zach, round up the surviving slaves and bring them here, and we'll have the Normandy pick them up." Sheppard said.

"You got it." Zach said walking off with Jenny following, two hours later and the slaves were all brought to Sheppard's location.

"Listen everyone, my name is Commander Sheppard and from this moment on you are all free!" The crowd cheered in response. "My ship will take you to your homeworlds but until then you will remain in the docking area.

"Sheppard, there's got to be at five hundred slaves here, how will we fit them all in?" Dsrondo pointed out.

"Let me worry about that Dsrondo." Sheppard said before putting a hand to his earpiece. "Joker, Tidoses has joined the crew alongside Jenny's older brother, be ready to pick up around five hundred slaves."

"Aye, aye Commander, landing on the planet......wait, slaves?!"

"Don't worry Joker, we rescued them from a Blue Suns facility and we are taking them to their homeworlds." Joker sighed with relief.

"That's a relief." Joker said,

"Wait, I thought the Normandy couldn't land on Planets?" Sheppard asked.

"Those upgrades you commissioned made it possible commander, we can now land on the planet's service for ten minutes at a time so it'll be best if the slaves and your crew enter at the same time." Joker said, and moments later the Normandy landed and everyone boarded.


	12. New friend, old enemy

"Commander, I understand the mission on Erinie was a success." The Asari councillor said, the slaves from the Purgatory building had been returned to their homes but with most of them living as far out as the rebuilt Horizon colony it had taken a few days which was why Sheppard had neglected to report to the council until now.

"Yes, not only do you have one of the most decorated council SPECTRES on your side you also have McKansa's older brother, a mercenary." The Turian Councillor said with disgust in his voice.

"You have something against him?" Sheppard asked.

"Not against him personally Commander as I am sure he is a fine soldier who will help keep his sister's temper in check, I just don't like his kind." The Turian councillor replied.

"You read Sheppard's report on Zach's combat abilities councillor." Anderson chimed in. "Sheppard has an eye for talent and this young man definitely seems to posses it."

"True, but how do we know he isn't a spy for the Eclipse?" Udina, who was attending this meeting as Anderson's advisor, chimed in.

"The Eclipse betrayed us and Zach was the only member who was against it, I'd say that's reason enough to trust him." Sheppard pointed out.

"What about Tidoses? We have read the report on the McKansa family's shaky history with the Turians." The Salarian councillor asked.

"Jenny understands that she'll be working with Turians throughout this mission, she has already warmed up to Garrus but Sidonis and Tidoses will take a little more time. As for Zach he didn't seem that hostile towards Tidoses on Erinie but the fact that she was working with his sister might have played a part in it." Sheppard answered.

"Given the McKansa family's history with Turians I am not surprised." Udina said.

"What's your next move Commander?" Anderson asked.

"We're heading to Eden Prime to pick up Grayson next, after that we'll attend to the matter of Balak's return." Sheppard answered.

"Very good Commander, we'll be in touch if anything comes up." The Salarian Councillor said before the council cut off.

"Nice ship you got here Sheppard." Sheppard turned around and saw Zach who had changed out of his mercenary uniform and into some civilian clothes.

"Glad you like it here, what happened to your Mercenary uniform?" Zach frowned.

"Tossed it into the Garbage, I intend to leave that life behind me as we fight the Reapers Captain." Sheppard frowned.

"So what? You plan on going into battle wearing no armour?" Zach chuckled.

"Despite what my sister might tell you I'm not stupid, next time we're on the Citadel or Ilium I'll be buying myself some new armour." Zach said and Sheppard smiled.

"Don't worry about it; I'll buy you some armour myself." Sheppard said, then the door opened and Tidoses entered.

"Impressive set-up Sheppard, this ship is among the finest I've served on." Tidoses said and Zach frowned.

"_There's the McKansa hostility towards Turians I was bound to see from him." _Sheppard thought with a frown as Zach confirmed his suspicions. "Glad you like it here Tidoses, you're skills will be an asset to the team."

"Aye, that is as long as she doesn't decide to stab us in the back." Zach said walking off towards the elevator and Sheppard shook his head.

"The McKansa sibling's problems with your people will have to be addressed at some point." Sheppard said and Tidoses nodded in agreement.

"Indeed Commander, though it may take some time since it's got less to do with Xenophobia and more to do with family history." Tidoses added. "And there's also the problems concerning the history between the McKansa family and the Williams family." Sheppard nodded in agreement.

"Jenny and Ashley have already gotten into an argument because of that but with two McKansas on the same ship as a Williams it's a huge, three way argument waiting to happen." Sheppard said.

"And I'm sure Grunt will be watching from the sidelines egging them on." Tidoses said shaking her head. "I'll see how I can assist Vakerian at the forward batteries Commander." Tidoses said walking off.

"Joker, set a course for Eden Prime, we've got an ex Cerberus operative to pick up." Sheppard said to Joker.

"Aye, aye Commander, ETA is two and a half hours." Joker answered.

"Ex Cerberus Operative you say? Who are we picking up Commander?" Jacob overheard and asked.

"Paul Grayson." Sheppard answered and Jacob shook his head.

"Don't recognise the name; he apparently had something to do with the attack on the Migrant Fleet." Jacob said.

"I know, Anderson mentioned that in his dossier." Sheppard said.

"Regardless, if Anderson recommended him I guess he's going to be a good addition to the team, besides that Ashley wants a word with you in the Armoury." Sheppard frowned.

"Does it have something to do with Zach or Jenny?" Sheppard frowned.

"Nah, Jenny's been down in the crew's quarters ever since we recruited Tidoses and her brother, well he's stayed out of Ashley's way." Jacob said.

"I'll talk to her and see what she wants, thanks for the heads up Jacob." Sheppard said.

"No problem Commander." Jacob answered before walking off, Sheppard entered the armoury and Ashley was at the door waiting for him.

"I take it you got Jacob's message?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah, are the McKansa siblings causing trouble for you?" Sheppard asked.

"Not while I'm around." Marcus' voice rang out.

"What he said, besides Zach's a nice kid and Jenny, well she's just Jenny but that's not what I want to talk about." Ashley said her tone of voice telling him it was personal, he lead her into the briefing room for privacy.

"What is it Ashley?" Sheppard asked.

"As you've probably heard there has been many attempts by historians to posthumously clear General Williams' name, only recently one historian has been making some serious headway, surprisingly a Turian historian by the name of Teridus Edect, only his comments have made him a target for those who believe that Williams made the wrong choice in surrendering Shanxi and as a result it has made him a target for an assassination attempt." Ashley explained.

"What can you tell me about this historian?" Sheppard asked.

"Like I said he's a Turian, at a guess I'd say he was slightly taller than Garrus, green scales and can hold his own in a fight due to the obligatory Turian military training, but he's getting old and reports suggest that due to him spending more time talking about history than he does fighting that he isn't as skilled as he used to be." Ashley said.

"So want to protect him from any assassination attempts?" Sheppard asked and Ashley nodded.

"This maybe the only chance my family has to clear my grandfather's name." Ashley said with a sigh.

"That may be a problem." Thane said walking into the room. "I apologize for the interruption Ms. Williams but there may be a conflict of interest."

"What do you mean? And please, call me Ashley; the Ms. Williams stuff makes me feel old." Ashley said with a smile.

"As you wish Ashley, as why I say that it's because I have been contracted to kill Teridus and the contractor has made it clear that if I don't carry out the killing that they will kill Kolyat." Sheppard and Ashley shared a concerned look.

"Do you have any idea who contracted you?" Sheppard asked.

"I don't know, but whoever it is obviously knows about Kolyat." Thane replied.

"I have an idea, Ashley where is Teridus now?" Sheppard asked.

"He's on the Citadel preparing to give a speech to Alliance representatives." Ashley said.

"Thane, was Kolyat still on the Citadel when you left him?" Sheppard asked and he nodded.

"He won't be going anywhere for a while due to his C-Sec training." Thane reassured him.

"Here's the plan, Thane will lead a team to get Kolyat somewhere were the contractor can't get to him, me, Ashley and Marcus will make sure that Teridus gives that speech." Sheppard said and Thane rubbed his chin in thought,

"The Normandy will be the safest place to hide him as only crew members along with anyone else they are bringing can board it via the Rapid Transit." Thane said.

"Good plan; problem is where do we stick him until the speech is over?" Ashley asked.

"Easy, the area near the life support as it is the most humid area on the ship and Drell have a higher chance of surviving in a Humid Environment." Sheppard answered.

"Best of both worlds, Teridus gives his speech and Kolyat is safe." Ashley said.

"Who should I bring for my squad?" Thane asked.

"Bring whoever you deem trustworthy enough Thane." Sheppard said.

"Very well, call me when you are ready." Thane said walking off.

"What he said." Ashley said walking off.

"Commander, we're about to land on Eden Prime." Joker's voice rang out.

"Good, tell the McKansa siblings to meet me at the shuttle." Sheppard said as he left the briefing room.

"Aye, aye, Commander." Joker replied, Soon after that Sheppard and the brother/sister duo where on the shuttle and on their way down to Eden Prime.

"So the guy we're picking up is a former Cerberus operative?" Zach said leaning back. "What else do we know about him?"

"Not much, he apparently had something to do with the attack on the Migrant Fleet and his caring for his autistic stepdaughter Gillian." Sheppard answered looking over the dossier on his datapad.

"Any idea what side of the Spectrum she's on?" Jenny asked earning her a confused look from Sheppard.

"What do you mean by spectrum?" Sheppard asked confused.

"To put it simply Commander, there's two ends of the Autism spectrum, the way I've always seen it is pretty simple, the higher you are on the Spectrum the more functional you are." Zach replied.

"And let me guess, the lower you are the less functional you are?" Sheppard asked and they nodded. "Anderson didn't specify in the dossier about that so I'm guessing he knows about as much about Autism as I do, how do you two know this anyway?"

"The youngest of the McKansa siblings, Sophie, is on the high end of the Spectrum, so you could just call it life experience." Zach answered.

"And she's in a gang?" Sheppard asked.

"Actually she quit after I informed her about Kate's situation." Zach looked at Jenny confused.

"What's happening with Kate?" Zach asked and she winced.

"Long story short, she killed a cop and she's getting Life without Parole for it." Sheppard answered and Zach shook his head.

"Damn it, she was always the weakest willed one of the four siblings and always willing to do what she was told I just never thought she'd......"

"I understand Zach, Jenny was just as shocked as you are when she found out." Sheppard said before turning to Jenny. "What will Sophie do now?"

"I asked Marcus to see if he could get her into the Scholarship, hopefully thanks to his influence she won't have to go through what I had to go through when I was discovered and yes I asked if that was what she wanted before going to Marcus." Jenny said.

"Sheppard, sorry to interrupt but we have received an urgent message from Trajure, the Terminus Systems races are willing to help you against the Reapers." EDI said over the PA.

"Thanks EDI." Sheppard said and the shuttle landed on Eden Prime and the three of them left the shuttle.

"Do we have any idea where Grayson lives Commander?" Jenny asked.

"No but if we ask around finding his house shouldn't be a problem....." Sheppard was cut off buy the sounds of gunfire and the three of them drew their weapons.

"Okay, so maybe tossing the Mercenary suit was a bad idea." Zach said.

"Gee, you think?!" Jenny asked and Zach just glared at her.

"That came from the North, Zach, due to the fact that you're wearing civilian clothing that offers no protection you're on crowd control." Sheppard said as Zach holstered his weapon.

"Crowd control? What crowd control?" Part of Zach was expecting a stampede of panicking civilians but none came. "Guess they fled into they're houses."

"Okay new plan, Zach you avoid combat as much as possible but if you see someone breaching our cover take them out." Sheppard commanded.

"Aye, aye Commander." Zach said with a salute.

"Jenny, you're with me." Sheppard leading the siblings to the source of the gunshots, there were several men standing there and where heavily armed but that wasn't all Sheppard noticed. "They are Cerberus operatives." Sheppard said.

"Are you sure?" Jenny asked.

"See that logo?" Sheppard said pointing out the Cerberus logo on they're uniform.

"They must be here for Grayson; wait isn't that the same logo that was on the Normandy when me and Marcus were recruited?" Jenny asked suspiciously.

"That's a long story; I'll explain it to you on the Normandy." Sheppard said.

"Commander, I'm in position, I'm in the alleyway across the street from you." Zach said over the earpiece.

"I see you Zach, be careful it's extremely likely that these people aren't ammeters." Sheppard replied. Jenny, take out the operative closest to you.....where did you get that?" Sheppard asked as she produced a shotgun.

"Oh, you mean this? Little gift from Zeead in exchange for saving his life, just never got around to using it until now." Jenny said.

"Regardless, when I said "take him out" I meant silently." Jenny groaned.

"Spoil my fun why don't ya." She muttered swapping out the shotgun for her pistol which she equipped with a silencer, moving quickly she put a bullet into the back of the Cerberus operative's head and went back behind cover before any of the other operatives could see her.

"Zach, slap the rest of the operatives with a Singularity." Sheppard ordered the young Adept.

"You got it Commander." Zach said firing the biotic field and trapping all but one of the operatives, who wisely stayed the hell away from the field, in the Singularity, after that it was a simple matter for Sheppard and Jenny to take out the rest of the operatives.

"Want me to take the last one?" Jenny asked Sheppard who shook his head.

"No, incapacitate him; we'll need him for interrogation." Jenny nodded and shot the remaining operative in the leg at which point she, Sheppard and Zach came out of hiding and approached him.

"Son of a......this was supposed to be an easy mission!" The operative said clutching his leg in pain.

"To bad The Illusive Man didn't count on one of his old friends interfering." Sheppard answered.

"What does Cerberus want with Eden Prime?" Jenny asked.

"I don't have to answer to you, kid." The operative said defiantly.

"Okay, how about I use my biotics to toss you towards the singularity and then we'll talk." Jenny said and the operative put his hands up in defence.

"Okay fine, if you're so interested in this dump then I'll tell you, we're here to tie up a loose end so to speak." The operative said.

"Paul Grayson?" Sheppard assumed.

"That drug addicted piece of shit isn't worth The Illusive Man's time, not after he escaped the experiments......" The operative said before covering his mouth.

"What experiments?" Sheppard asked.

"I'm not saying another word and the Singularity field has died down so don't think you can threaten me." The operative said.

"What? You don't think I can throw up another singularity and trap you in it?" Zach said.

"Still not talking......." Jenny aimed her gun at his crotch. "I'LL TALK! I'LL TALK!"

"Never do that again." Zach muttered to his sister who just shrugged.

"Got him talking didn't it?" Jenny replied before turning to the operative. "You've got two options, tell us what we need to know or walk around speaking in a high pitched voice for the rest of your life so don't you even think of trying to back out of this."

"Fine, our target is his stepdaughter Gillian, she's a powerful biotic and The Illusive Man wants to run some experiments on her." The siblings saw red after hearing that.

"You mean to tell me that your boss wants to experiment on a little girl just because she's a biotic and you went along with it?!" Jenny said.

"I told you what you want to know; besides I'm not in a position to deny orders." The operative protested.

"That's too bad for you." Jenny said as she went to pull the trigger, Sheppard, whilst envisioning every male member of the Normandy watching the mission on the vids closing their eyes at that precise moment, stopped her.

"I know you're angry at him but he still has information we want." Sheppard said also envisioning every male member thanking whatever god they believed in that he had intervened.

"Be thankful that Sheppard's here." Jenny said holstering her gun.

"What else do you want to know?" The operative asked.

"How many other Cerberus operatives are on Eden Prime?" Sheppard asked.

"At least two more bands of operatives, sorry I can't give you they're positions." Sheppard nodded to Jenny who went for her gun. "And by that I mean that there's one band to the west of here and another to the south."

"Good, now tell me were Paul Grayson lives." The operative shook his head.

"Can't tell you that and your friend can't threaten me to get me to tell you either, we were searching for him when you arrived." Sheppard frowned.

"Well that helps." Zach muttered sarcastically.

"Hey don't look at me; The Illusive Asshole didn't have the intel to allow us to approach the home directly." The operative said and Sheppard sighed.

"That's too bad for you." Sheppard said drawing his gun and putting a round between the operative's eyes.

"This complicates things." Jenny said folding her arms.

"No shit Sherlock." Zach answered back; Sheppard ignored the siblings and put a hand to his earpiece.

"EDI, can you see if you can find a record of where Paul Grayson is living on Eden Prime?" Sheppard said.

"Analyzing home ownership records for Eden Prime." The AI'S voice rang out. "According to these records Grayson lives at the following address, I am uploading it to your onmi-tool now." The address soon showed up.

"Thanks EDI." Sheppard said before looking at his Onmi Tool. "We're looking for 24 Drellowes Way."

"That's easy enough; we're on the right block." Jenny said pointing to a street sign.

"Looks like the Cerberus operatives we encountered were on the right track, if we hadn't gotten to Eden Prime sooner they would most likely of gotten to Grayson before we did." Sheppard said.

"Scratch that commander." Zach said. "23.......24.......we're here."

"You want to knock or should I?" Jenny asked.

"What will I say? "Hi, I'm former mercenary Zach McKansa and my boss needs your help for a mission of Galactic Importance."

"It's nice to meet you Zach." Zach nearly jumped out of his skin before turning around and seeing a dark haired young girl, most likely in her early teens emerge from a gate that connected to what Sheppard assumed was the back garden.

"Are you Gillian Grayson?" Sheppard asked.

"Yes, how may I help you?" Gillian asked.

"Is your father home?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah I'm home," A voice came from behind Gillian and Paul Grayson soon appeared. "You must be Commander Sheppard, I was told of your arrival by Councillor Anderson." Paul said shaking the Commander's hand.

"And I don't know if you've noticed yet but some of your old Cerberus buddies are here and are looking for you." Zach said and Paul's eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, I've noticed, if we're quick we can get to your shuttle but Gillian has to come with us, she's the reason I stopped using Red Sand." Paul said.

"You have my word; there are two more bands of Cerberus operatives and they....."

"OVER THERE!" Two voices rang out simultaneously and both remaining bands of Cerberus operatives rounded the corner. "Grayson, you have one chance to surrender that brat to us, I suggest you take it." One of the voices, an Australian Male, said.

"Here's an idea guys, you can take The Illusive Man's orders and order him to go fu....." Jenny never finished as Gillian unleashed a powerful biotic wave that sent the Cerberus operatives flying in all directions, after they gunned down the remaining operatives Zach let out an impressed whistle.

"That operative wasn't kidding." Zach said.

"Come on; let's head back to the Normandy before the remaining operatives have a chance to recover." Sheppard ordered and lead Paul and Gillian too the shuttle, minutes later they were back on the Normandy.

"Welcome aboard Grayson." Jacob greeted the man with a firm handshake.

"I'm glad to be here Jacob." Paul said in response.

"I wasn't expecting to be picking up two people but Paul insisted that Gillian be brought along." Sheppard added.

"I'm guessing she won't be seeing any action due to her age?" Jacob asked and Sheppard nodded.

"Yeah, she's far too young for that." Sheppard confirmed before walking out of the briefing room and towards the cockpit.

"Commander, hey great job down on Eden Prime, it's always fun sticking it to our former employers." Sheppard shook his head.

"Tell everyone to meet me in the conference room immediately." Sheppard said.

"Err, you got it Commander." Joker said and Sheppard entered the elevator and went down to the conference room and five minutes later everyone (save for Gillian) was in the conference room.

"You are probably wondering why I called this meeting, well our next mission isn't going to be a recruitment mission, it's a mission that I am doing for Dsrondo as a favour, a notorious Batarian slave ring is planning a Slave Raid on the human colony of Feros and we, alongside a small portion of the council fleet lead by the STG will be fighting them off."

"Curious, why would a slave raid require the attention of the Citadel council, must be something bigger than a simple slave raid." Mordin chimed in.

"That's correct Mordin, the reason it's attracted the attention of the council is because of the man who is leading the Slave Ring, the exact same man who lead the attack on Asteroid X57 two years ago, Balak." The mere mention of the notorious terrorist's name caught the attention of everyone present.

"That son of a bitch doesn't deserve to live." Jacob said with anger that he had only seen once before, when the reality of his father's actions came to light during his loyalty mission.

"Something wrong Jacob?" Sheppard asked.

"I have family on Terra Nova Commander, there's nothing I won't do for five minutes alone with him." Jacob said.

"I feel the same way, I knew some good people who died at the hands of Balak and his minions. If I had some time alone with him I'd make sure he suffered as much as my friends did." Marcus added.

"That's the exact reason why Balak is near the top of the Citadel Council's Most Wanted List, he's a ruthless terrorist who will stop at nothing to make humanity suffer, and I say we make him suffer for once." Everyone nodded in agreement. "The STG has recommended that I bring everyone on my crew along for this mission, and don't worry Paul, that doesn't include Gillian."

"Let me get this straight, ruthless terrorist, thousands of lives at stake, now that sounds like a good fight to me!" Grunt said pumping his fists enthusiastically.

"Glad you think so Grunt, I'm more interested in ending the career of a terrorist, permanently." Drakus said menacingly.

"We should be rendezvousing with the STG in a couple of days, be careful as the attack on Asteroid X57 was originally nothing more than a simple slave raid and we all know how that almost turned out." The crew members nodded grimly. "That's all for now, back to your stations but be ready for action in two days time." Grunt pumped his fists again telling Sheppard that he was already ready for action and once the crew members left so did Sheppard.


	13. Feros prologue

Sheppard could only think of one word to describe the two days leading up to the mission on Feros, tense.

The whole crew had been preparing themselves in a variety of ways, from Samara tutoring the McKansa siblings in biotics to regular target practice in Grunt's quarters (though no one had the guts to ask him where he got the Dead Collectors) everyone had been preparing themselves for the upcoming mission.

Sheppard's train of thought was interrupted when the door to his quarters opened.

"Commander, I wish to speak with you." Dsrondo's voice rang out from behind him.

"Sure Dsrondo, what do you need." Sheppard asked turning around.

"I want to thank you again for this opportunity, a Slave Raid is bad enough but with Balak involved it's bound to be something far more significant." Dsrondo said and Sheppard couldn't help but agree.

"I'm glad I could help you with this, Balak is one of few people in this galaxy that I can't stand the sight off, The Illusive Man also being among them." Dsrondo chuckled.

"Indeed, you know what the propaganda vids on the Homeworld and on Batarian Colonies says about the human race?" Sheppard shook his head knowing that it was probably not going to be a good thing. "The propaganda vids describe the Human Race as scavengers and thieves that are only fit for slavery." Dsrondo shook his head in disgust. "My encounters with the human race on Earth and on this Ship painted an entirely new picture of them for me, I saw that they are a brave people who try to make every second of their short lives count and that, once trained properly, they can also be vicious fighters. If I hadn't gone to Earth you recruiting of me either wouldn't of happened or would've been far more difficult."

"I'm glad the human race got to show its true colours to you Dsrondo." Sheppard said with a smile.

"The feeling is mutual, believe me." Dsrondo said returning the smile.

"Commander, we are about to establish contact with the Citadel fleet." EDI'S voice rang out.

"Thanks EDI." Sheppard thanked the AI before turning to Dsrondo. "I'm going to talk to the fleet in the briefing room, you make sure that everyone's prepared for action." Dsrondo nodded.

"Consider it done, shouldn't be that hard given the fact that most of the crew have been down in Grunt's quarters." Dsrondo replied before getting in the elevator with Sheppard. Sheppard went to the briefing room and opened up the comm. Link to the link and was greeted by a familiar face.

"Ah Commander, it's good to see you again." Captain Karehee, the STG captain that had assisted him on Virmire, greeted.

"Likewise Captain, and like the last time we're here to stop a dangerous individual." Sheppard greeted and Karahee nodded grimly. "What's the situation on Feros?"

"We saw a Batarian class cruiser enter the Feros relay two days ago captain after that we have been unable to get in contact with anyone on Feros."

"It sounds like they're using some kind of jamming signal." Sheppard said and Karahee nodded.

"Our engineers agree with you Sheppard, if you don't mind I'd like files on the people you are working with, just so we know who's on our side." Karahee said.

"Don't see the harm in that, I'll have my ship's AI forward them to you." Karahee, though concerned about the mention of an AI, nodded in appreciation when he saw the files on his computer screen.

"Okay then, well I can't see anything wrong with these people you have well apart from the fact that you have a Batarian on your team." Karahee said and Sheppard sighed.

"Without that Batarian neither I nor the council would've known about this Slave Raid." Sheppard said and he nodded. "And do me a favour and leave that part about the AI and the Batarian on my squad out of your report."

"I understand Commander." Karhee said shrugging.

"We'll see you on Feros then!" Sheppard said as the captain cut off, Dsrondo entered the room.

"Everyone's ready for battle." Dsrondo said.

"Thanks, let's go kick some ass!" Dsrondo grinned and walked off. "Joker, has the Citadel fleet gone through the relay yet?"

"They just went through commander." Joker replied.

"Follow them through." Sheppard ordered.

"Aye, Aye Commander, brace yourself." Joker said as the Normandy went through the relay.

"Tell everyone to meet me at the hanger Joker, we're heading to Feros." Sheppard ordered before heading to the hanger, soon he was joined by the other crew members.

"Here's the plan people, this mission will have us split into three groups, group number 1 is the Snipers, they're jobs will be recon and if it comes to it kill a target from a distance, the members of that squad are as follows; Garrus, Zeead, Tidoses, Legion and Thane."

The members of the squad stepped forward as they were announced.

"Garrus, you're in charge of that team, next up is the ground team, and they will be in charge of giving them hell, the members are as follows; Miranda, Jacob, myself, Grunt, Drakus, Paul, Ashley, Sidonis, the McKansa siblings, Dsrondo, Samara and Marcus, however I want the McKansas and Grunt to stay with Drakus and Marcus as they are the least experienced out of all of us, Marcus you're in charge with the rookies alongside Drakus, I'm in charge of everyone else. Are we clear on our objectives?" The members nodded. "We all know who the main enemy is here people, this man is not only a threat to every human in the galaxy but to ever race in the galaxy, we are not going to let him get away!" The crewmembers nodded and Joker's voice rang out.

"Commander, I'm a bit confused as to what I and Tali will be doing on this mission." Mordin said.

"You two will make up the final team, the tech specialists, your jobs will be to assist us in any way you can using your technological skills."

"Understood Commander." Tali said.

"One more thing Mordin, you'll be the go between for us and the STG, the reason for that is the leader of this particular group is someone you've served under." Mordin smiled.

"Captain Karahee? Would be nice to catch up with him but I realize that Balak takes priority." Mordin said.

"Glad you have your priorities straight Mordin, maybe if you both live through this I'll arrange it so you two can catch up over a nice dinner." Sheppard said.

"Sounds good, even more reason for me to live!" Mordin said.

"One more thing people, it appears that Balak's team are using some kind of jamming device so until Tali gets it disabled we won't be able to communicate with each other, Tali as soon as you touch ground on Feros that's your priority." Tali nodded. "Once communications are online I expect you all to relay any findings to me if you're not on my squad but one at a time, not all at once." The whole squad nodded in understanding.

"We're about to land on Feros commander, the Citadel Fleet has already touched ground but since the communications are jammed we have no idea what's going on down there." Joker said over the intercom.

"Thanks Joker, be ready people." Sheppard said and the crew nodded.

Author's Note: Err, hey guys.

Reason this chapter is so short is that I'm going to show it from different viewpoints starting from Tali and Mordin and ending with Sheppard, not sure how many chapters they'll be in this storyline but I guess we'll find out.


	14. Feros part 1

When the Normandy touched ground on Feros the team went our separate ways, the Sniper team went to high ground in order to make use of it whilst the ground team went ahead towards the tower that the Geth used two years ago and Mordin joined up with his old friend from STG who I recognised from Virmire, as for me I had a job to do and that was to disable the jamming signal so that we could communicate.

All I could think about was bosh'tet Balak, I was on the Asteroid X57 mission and I saw firsthand the atrocities that that thing who I refuse to call a being committed, I can't blame Sheppard for letting him go, he had to save the hostages and it put Balak on the run but now he was going to pay.

I was using my Onmi-Tool to narrow down the jamming device's location, since the communications where being jammed and all I couldn't rely on the snipers to point me in the right direction, good news was that I had narrowed down the Jamming Devices location, bad news was that it was in the tower that the Geth had used as a headquarters when they had attacked Feros two years prior so whilst I was familiar with the area I couldn't rely on the Snipers to help me.

"_Not that I can't handle myself." _I thought with a sigh. I entered the tower and using my Onmi-Tool I realized it was down the stairs, I walked down them and quickly hugged the wall when I saw two Batarians walking towards me. I couldn't tell what they were talking about because they were speaking in their native language but I did recognise one name, Balak.

"Go get them Chiktikka vas Paus, good girl." I whispered activating my Combat Drone, it appeared behind the Batarians and one never saw the drone coming until it was too late and was shocked to death.

"What the hell....." The second Batarian said turning around giving me my chance, I span around and fired once with my shotgun sending the Batarian flying, I smiled at the Combat Drone (not that you could tell due to the mask) before activating my omni tool again and realized that the Jamming Device was a bit further down the stairs and I continued my descent.

"Hey, I heard a shotgun go off in this direction." Another Batarian voice rang out and I groaned.

"Well take care of it, Balak doesn't want anything going wrong on this mission." To my surprise a Turian voice rang out.

"_Was that a Turian? Why is he with Balak, last I checked Balak didn't have any connections to the Blue Suns." _I thought dismissing the idea that Balak was working with the Blue Suns, which was kind of stupid since Balak was practically a one man Batarian version of Cerberus, I didn't have time to question any that further as the Batarian was nearing my position, I quickly swapped out my shotgun for a silenced pistol and put a round in the Batarian's head. I waited a few minutes to see if the Turian that the Batarian was talking too would emerge but he didn't and I realized that it was from an earpiece.

"Sheppard might find this interesting." I said to myself making a mental note to mention this to Sheppard once the jamming device was offline.

"What might he find interesting?" I jumped in surprise and turned around seeing the latest recruit, Paul I think his name was.

"See that Batarian?" Paul nodded. "He was talking to a Turian before I put a round in his head." Paul looked concerned about that.

"Strange, I thought the only Turians here was Garrus, Tidoses and Sidonis." Paul added. "You catch a name?" I shook my head.

"Unfortunately no, shame I had to kill him I could've interrogated him." I said and Paul chuckled.

"And use Jenny's interrogation tactics?" I winced remembering how panicky Kenneth was about seeing a man get shot in the balls, I got along with Jenny once I got passed her hot temper but it was a sad sight to see so many males panic over her tactics.

"How'd you know about that?" I asked.

"Marcus told me about it." He shrugged. "And that was before Sheppard asked me to escort you down here."

"I guess that makes sense, I won't be too much good if I'm dead." I added. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I only just caught up with you." Paul admitted.

"Oh, sorry about that, I wanted to get communications up ASAP, wait a minute how come it didn't jam that Batarian's com link?" Paul shrugged.

"Maybe it's designed to jam none Batarian signals." I grew concerned remembering what Ashley had said about her mission on Omega.

"The ability to specify which signals not to block, I can only think of one group with this kind of technology, the SPECTERS." I said grimly.

"You think this is connected to Aria's weapons smuggling gig on Omega?" Paul asked, I assumed that he had learnt about that from Ashley.

"Yeah and that idea scares me, Balak on his own is bad enough but with SPECTER gear, someone with that much ruthlessness can cause a lot of damage." I shuddered to think. "Only Ashley only mentioned that she was smuggling it to the Blue Suns, Eclipse and Blood Pack and not to terrorists, maybe he got the tech another way."

"I'm thinking the Turian you heard has something to do with it and I'm not saying that because I'm a former Cerberus agent." Paul replied. "Think about it, the majority of SPECTERS have been Turians and whilst other species are being recruited....."

"I see what you mean Paul, but if a SPECTER agent has aligned himself with Balak that means that that agent has gone rogue." I shook my head. "Let's not jump to conclusions until we get some definite proof though, according to my Onmi-Tool the jamming device is down this hallway and to the right." I looked into the hallway and stopped when I saw that the room was full of Batarians. "Only we'll have to drop the stealthy approach to get down there."

"That's fine by me." Paul said drawing his gun. "How many Batarians do you see?"

"I'd say around ten but Kealah knows how many are guarding the Jamming Device." I replied.

"Could you disable it from here?" I looked at my Onmi Tool and shook my head.

"We're too far away to attempt it, in order to disable it remotely we'd have to be within ten yards of the thing." I replied. "Besides if I did we'd most likely attract the attention of the Batarian guards."

"What about overloading it?" Paul asked.

"That has the same problem." I replied before getting my gun out. Paul took out the Batarian closest to the door with a gunshot to the head and I did likewise, we waited until the other Batarians had to reload before picking them off eventually clearing out the room.

"How much farther is it Tali?" Paul asked.

"Not too far from here." I said looking at my Onmi Tool. "A Bit further to the North then take a right." Paul nodded and followed my lead and we eventually found the jamming device.

"That thing's huge." Paul said. "Not to mention heavily guarded."

"Luckily for us I'm close enough to disable it remotely, maybe even cause it to explode thus saving us the trouble of dealing with the remaining Batarians." I said.

"You see the Turian in there?" Paul asked.

"No, if I had to guess I'd say he's Balak's right hand man." I said entering the necessary codes into my Onmi-Tool, the Jamming Device started to spark catching the Batarians' attention.

"What the hell? Didn't Drodosri say that thing never broke?" The Batarian nearest the device said.

"That's what we get for trusting a Turian....." The Batarian next to him commented but never finished as the Jamming Device exploded taking out every Batarian in the room, once me and Paul got our hearing back from being in close proximity to the explosion I put a hand to my earpiece.

"Sheppard, it's Tali, Jamming Device has been disabled we're coming back up now." I said into the earpiece.

"I got it Tali, and thanks." Sheppard replied.

"There's one other thing, the device was designed so that the user could specify which signals not to jam and I heard a Batarian talking to a Turian called Drodosri via an earpiece." I said.

"That kind of technology wasn't made for public use; it was made for the SPECTERS and certainly not for terrorists." Tidoses chimed in.

"That's what I thought as well." I said as me and Paul started climbing back up the stairs. "Do you recognise that name Tidoses?"

"Yes but only because it's a common Turian male name, you're going to have to be more specific about who you're talking about." I shook my head.

"Sorry, that's all the info I got." I replied.

"Don't worry about it Tali, you got the communications back up and that's what matters." Sheppard said. "When you get back up here I want you to meet up with Mordin and the STG, you'll be assisting them from here on out."

"Understood Commander, were are they?" I asked.

"Near were the entrance to the Thorian chambers were two years ago." Sheppard said and I nodded. "Paul, when you get back up here join back up with my team."

"I've got it Commander." Paul replied.

"We're coming up now Commander." I said and we emerged from the tower.

"Sheppard, we have a problem, a big one." I heard Garrus' voice over Sheppard's earpiece.

"What is it Garrus?" I couldn't hear the next part but I saw Sheppard's eyes go wide.


	15. Feros part 2

My eyes narrowed when I saw Tali enter the tower which the Geth used as a base two years ago, my guess was that Tali had tracked the Jamming Device's signal to that location which made it impossible for my team to track her, thankfully Sheppard seemed to realize that as well and sent the new guy Paul Grayson to keep an eye on her, turning my attention away from them I sniped a Batarian that had noticed Sheppard was going to assassinate him for behind but didn't count on my sniping skills.

I reloaded my gun when Thane motioned for me to look at the direction that his rifel was pointing at, I looked and what I saw made my eyes widen.

"Zeead, do you see what I see?" I said turning to Zeead, because of the lack of Communication we had opted to stay close together, Zeead looked and frowned.

"Is that a Turian made nuclear bomb? How the bloody hell did Balak get his hands on that thing Garrus?" Zeead said turning to me.

"I don't know but that's not all I saw, I counted twenty different nuclear bombs in that clearing and they're all from different council races." Zeead shook his head.

"You know, Balak is one of the few bounties that I've never been able to claim, every time I had that bastard cornered he always managed to slip away, he aint slipping away tonight." Zeead said.

"I couldn't agree more Zeead." I agreed as Tidoses sniped another Batarian and Legion got two with the same Sniper Rifle bullet.

"What the hell is Balak up to?" Zeead muttered. "I've yet to see any cages with the residents of Feros in them."

I frowned, Zeead had a point, and we had yet to see any captured residents of the colony. "Didn't Dsrondo say that it was a Slave rave?"

"With someone like Balak involved I doubt it Garrus." Thane said over the earpiece, it was then that we realized that communications where back up.

"Sheppard, its Garrus do you copy?" When Sheppard didn't reply I looked in his direction and saw that he was already talking to someone, presumably Tali and Paul, over the earpiece so I waited, I also heard Tidoses chime in and through that I learned one other odd thing about this mission, the fact that Balak was working with a Turian who had access to SPECTER technology. "_Just what the damn universe needs, Balak with access to SPECTER technology."_ I thought shuddering, I saw Tali and Paul emerge from the tower and put a hand to my earpiece.

"Sheppard, we have a problem, a big one." I said into the earpiece.

"What is it Garrus?" Sheppard replied and I took a deep breath.

"Balak's gotten his hands on Nuclear Weapons from all the different council races, I think he's trying to start a war between us and the other council races." That was the only logical conclusion that I could come up with and I wouldn't put it past Balak to try something so bold and daring either.

"Listen up everyone, for now this is a stealth mission until we locate Balak and his Turian associate, our main objective is to hack and disable those nukes." Sheppard said.

"Sheppard, that's going to be a LOT easier, said than done, Tali's good but Turian nukes are nearly impossible to hack and, no offence to Tali, she won't be able to do it." Tidoses said.

"Then this unit will do it." Legion said standing up.

"That maybe our best chance Sheppard, you said it yourself during the attack on the Collector base that Legion can hack into anything." I added.

"Alright then, Legion meet up with Tali, the STG and Mordin, as for everyone else back to your assigned groups." Sheppard said. Legion left our hiding place and Sheppard pointed out where to go to him. "Garrus, keep an eye out for Balak or his Turian associate."

"You want me to snipe them?" I asked.

"No, I'd rather deal with that bastard personally." Sheppard said in reply.

"Understood Sheppard, I'll let you know if I find them." I replied back before pointing my sniper rifle towards the field of nukes occasionally sniping a Batarian or two. It was then that I saw him.

"Sheppard, I've got visual confirmation on Balak." I said into my earpiece. "He's near the nukes."

"Thanks Garrus, any sign of his Turian friend?" I shook my head.

"He is talking to someone but whoever it is I can't see them, for all I know it could just be one of his Batarian thugs.....no offence to Dsrondo."

"None taken." Dsrondo replied.

"Let me know if you do see who he's talking too." Sheppard said.

"Got it Commander, Zeead, Thane, Tidoses, see if you can get a view of who Balak's talking too." I said to my teammates.

"Understood Garrus." Tidoses said.

"What she said." Zeead added.

"Indeed." Thane added. To the credit of Balak's associate he/she kept himself out of the range of our sniper scopes, that was until two loud shotgun blasts in rapid succession where heard.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS THAT?!" Zeead blurted out.

"I don't think it was one of Balak's men, just look at the look on his face." Tidoses said and I zoomed in seeing a surprised and confused look on the terrorist's face.

"That came from where Marcus and Drakus where helping Grunt and the McKansas look for survivors." Thane realised.

"Maybe it was Grunt then, that guy's not known for subtly." Zeead said.

"No, his shotgun is still holstered." I replied.

"Marcus, what the hell was that?" I heard Sheppard yell into his earpiece.

"I can't answer that, Drakus and Grunt are checking it out." Sheppard replied.

"Oh right, tell me when you do find out." Sheppard said before cutting off.


	16. Feros part 3

"Jenny, go check that building for survivors, we'll be out here if you need us." Marcus said to me. "And keep in mind this is a stealth mission so don't use the damn shotgun Zeead gave you!"

"Okay, okay, no need to nag." I muttered.

"I heard that." Marcus called after me; I simply rolled my eyes and entered the building in question.

"_Great, one minute I'm protecting Mindoir the next I'm tracking down one of the Galaxy's most wanted terrorist." _I thought to myself, I didn't know much about this Balak guy because the only things I knew about him where told by the News Reporters back on Earth and they didn't have much info to begin with. _"Then again according to Marcus the Alliance doesn't make a habit of letting unprotected media like the news know about the real action here in Space._" I thought shaking my head. Communications where still down so I had no way of contacting Marcus or Drakus until then.

I rounded a corner in the building and heard signs of a struggle from down the hallway; I drew my pistol not sure on what I'd find there which turned out to be a good choice as I could hear a Batarian voice struggling with what sounded like a human female, I instinctively went for my earpiece but remembered that communications where down.

"_Looks like I'm on my own for now, great, just, great."_ I thought slightly agitated, why the hell didn't Marcus think to send Zach to back me up?

"Come on you filthy human, you know you want it." The Batarian's voice said as I neared the door, I peered in to the doorway and saw that the woman was tied to a bed whilst the Batarian was undoing his trousers and judging from the look on the woman's face it wasn't consensual. Once I put two and two together I couldn't think straight, all I could see was red, I suspended the Batarian with my biotics and, using a truck I learned from Samara, flung him into a stack of crates, I swapped out the pistol for my shotgun and glared at the Batarian.

"No, please, I wasn't going to do anything to her I swear." The Batarian pleaded, needless to say I wasn't buying it, I turned on my Incendiary ammo and shot him once in the crotch, the Batarian screamed but it was cut short when I blew his head off with the second shotgun blast. Once I calmed down I went to free the woman.

"Thank you, thank you." Was all the woman could say in between deep breaths. She had short black hair and blue eyes, judging from her choice of clothing she was probably a scientist.

"Did he hurt you too much Ms.?" I asked.

"He slapped me around a bit but I'll live, can't say the same for him." She said with a sigh. "My name's Lizbeth Baynhem, I was a researcher here before the Batarians attacked."

"Jenny McKansa, I'm with Commander Sheppard's squad." I replied and she looked surprised.

"Commander Sheppard? He's here?" Lizbeth asked.

"Yeah, you know him?" Before she could reply I heard voices coming from the hallway.

"Those shotgun blasts came from down here." A Batarian said and my eyes widened.

"_Shit, the stealth mission." _I thought, I hugged the wall and peeked around the corner, there had to be at least ten Batarians and whilst my biotics had come a long way since I originally enlisted in the Alliance I wasn't good enough to take on that many at once, to make matters worse the room offered no cover from fire. "Lizbeth, unless you know a secret way out of this room we're thoroughly screwed." I said turning to her.

"Sorry Jenny, there isn't any." Lizbeth said and I bit my lip.

"Over there." The leader of this squad of Batarians said pointing to the dead Batarian.

"Poor bastard, his killer's probably a long way from here." Another Batarian commented.

"Or maybe she's in here." The leader said turning to me. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

"Err, two innocent humans who just happened to be walking by." I said smiling as sweetly as I could, the Batarian leader snorted.

"Innocent humans? Don't make me laugh." The Batarian said as he and the other Batarians entered the room.

"Hey boss, what do you say about having a little "fun" with these two before we finish them off?" Another Batarian suggested licking his lips.

"Sounds good to....."

"**I AM KROGAN!!!!!"** A familiar voice rang out before charging into the crowd of Batarians sending them flying; however Grunt kept charging when he met the leader crushing him against the wall, I winced when I heard a sickening snap as the Batarian slumped to the floor.

"Are you okay McKansa?" Grunt asked.

"I'll live, thanks Grunt." I said with a sigh of relief. It was then that he noticed Lizbeth.

"Who's the Human Female? Is she a survivor?" Grunt asked and I nodded.

"Thanks to my timely arrival." I said motioning to the Batarian I killed; Grunt walked over and inspected the damage.

"Nice work, though you managed to simultaneously piss off Drakus, Marcus and Sheppard." Grunt replied and I winced again. "By the way, Communications are online." Grunt added.

"Err, I'm Lizbeth, I work here on the Colony, or should I say "worked here." Lizbeth chimed in.

"Are there any other survivors Lizbeth?" Drakus said entering the room.

"Not from what I've seen no." She said before Drakus turned his attention to me.

"Grunt, take Lizbeth to the surface, I want a word with McKansa, in private." Grunt nodded and motioned for Lizbeth to follow him and Lizbeth closed the door behind her. "What were you thinking McKansa? You almost compromised the whole mission?" Drakus said in a tone that he had previously used during the mission on Omega when arguing with Ashley.

"I know, truth is I wasn't exactly thinking straight, that Batarian was going to rape Lizbeth if I hadn't intervened." Drakus studied me for a moment before nodding.

"Can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing myself, only difference is I would've snapped the Batarian's neck not castrate and behead him with a shotgun using incendiary rounds." Drakus said.

"No offence but I'm not as strong as you and that Batarian was twice my size." I replied.

"Then snap his neck with your biotics, not compromise the mission." Drakus said. "Look I know you have a short temper, hell you're temper would've given half the Krogan Battlemasters I've met a run for their money, but next time try to keep your temper in check, what if you where closer to Balak, he and his Turian associate would've fled to they're ship and this whole mission would've been a waste of my time and Sheppard's." Drakus said firmly. "Marcus and Sheppard want a word with you as well so get ready for an earful." Drakus added leaving the room before turning to me. "Are you coming or what?"

"I'm coming." I said with a sigh following Drakus out.

"For what it's worth, I'll tell Sheppard and Marcus that you're actions where in the defence of a civilian, just to save you the trouble of repeating yourself." Drakus said.

"Thanks." I said as I followed him up, we emerged from the building and I winced when I saw the look on Marcus' face, Drakus talked to him in a hushed tone and he seemed to calm down significantly.

"McKansa, follow me." Marcus eventually said leading me away from the others.

"Oooo, busted!" Zach said but one glare from Marcus shut him up. Marcus led me to a secluded spot and sat down on a crate.

"I assume that what Drakus told me was accurate McKansa?" He asked and I nodded. "I understand that you weren't thinking straight much like you weren't on Eden Prime but that wasn't a stealth mission and you nearly compromised the mission."

"I know, I've already gotten an earful from Drakus." I replied.

"I know and under different circumstances I'd be commending you for it but next time keep your temper in check." I narrowed my eyes.

"You're asking me to keep my temper in check when an innocent woman is about to be raped?" I raised my voice and Marcus shook his head.

"We'll go into more detail on the Normandy, for now we'll focus on stopping that bastard known as Balak." Marcus said standing up and walking back towards the others. "Sheppard, it's Marcus, Jenny was the source of the shotgun blasts but without her we wouldn't have had a civilian to save."

"Who's the civilian?" Sheppard asked.

"Lizbeth Baynham, she's a researcher here on Feros." Marcus replied.

"Send her back to the Normandy until we're done here." Sheppard ordered.

"Got it, Zach, escort her back to the Normandy and report here when you're done." Marcus said turning to Zach.

"Aye, aye Marcus." Zach said before leaving with Lizbeth.

"Jenny, stay with me and Drakus until the end of the mission." Marcus said and I nodded not wanting another earful though I would undoubtedly get one from Sheppard once the mission was over, Zach joined back up with us and Marcus put a hand to his earpiece.

"So what did Marcus want with you?" Zach asked me though I could tell he already knew.

"None of your business." I answered.

"Well excuse me for being curious!" Zach said putting his hands up in defence. "Would you mind telling me were you found that Baynham chick?"

"Also none of your business." Was all I said.

"I'd consider it to be my business if you managed to piss off three of your commanding officers." Zach added.

"Shut up or risk an ass kicking." I replied and Zach shut up.

"If you two are done bickering according to Tidoses we're the ones that are closest to the nukes and therefore we're the ones who will have the best shot at Balak and his Turian associate." Marcus said motioning for us to follow him, we did so and we followed him until we reached the field of nukes, we could see Balak approaching our position talking with a Turian who had red scales.

"Balak, if this doesn't send a message to those fools in the council nothing will!" The Turian said proudly.

"Yes Drodosri, once the Council races have finished killing each other over this we'll sweep in and claim the Citadel for ourselves! The Batarian rebellions will begin and the Human scum will be wiped out." Balak exclaimed.

"Jenny, scan the Turian's face into your Onmi-Tool and send it to the Citadel Council for a positive ID." Marcus ordered me and after a few seconds I successfully scanned his face and sent it to the council.

"His mugshot's been sent to the Council, let's see if they recognise this bastard!" I said.

"Hello is this Jenny McKansa of Commander Sheppard's crew?" To my surprise the Asari councillor asked over my earpiece.

"Err yeah, what's up?" I asked, mostly because I didn't know what the hell else to say.

"Care to explain why you sent us a picture of a Council SPECTER's face?" My eyes widened.

"Did you say SPECTER?" I asked.

"Yes." The Asari councillor answered.

"Because the guy I sent the picture of is working with Balak." I replied. "If you want I can send video footage of the two of them talking as well."

"No need child, patch me through to Commander Sheppard immediately." The Asari Councillor replied.

"Sure, just give me a sec." I said before briefly switching to the Commander's channel. "Sheppard, it's Jenny, I've got a message for you."

"Care to explain why you almost compromised the mission?" Sheppard said almost immediately.

"Later, I never thought I'd say this but the Asari Councillor wants a word with you." I replied.

"Patch her through." Sheppard replied and I did so,


	17. Feros part 4

"How could Jenny be so stupid?" I heard Ashley mutter folding her arms.

"Marcus said it was in the defence of a civilian, just be glad that we were able to find a survivor in the first place." Dsrondo chimed in.

"Yeah, but how do I know that you and the McKansas aren't working with Balak." Ashley said and Dsrondo's eyes narrowed.

"If I was working for Balak everyone else on the squad would be dead already!" Dsrondo said. "And do us all a favour and stop stereotyping the McKansas as traitors just because they're great grandfather betrayed the Alliance." Dsrondo said getting in Ashley's face.

"Oh really? And what makes a Batarian a judge on human character." Ashley snapped back.

"What makes the bitch that's only on the team because she's screwing the Commander a judge on Human Character?" Dsrondo said getting my attention.

"Stand down Dsrondo, your way over the line." I stepped in.

"I only speak the truth Commander." Dsrondo replied folding his arms.

"So do I when I say that we can't trust Dsrondo or the McKansas." Ashley replied.

"As I recall your grandfather chose surrender rather than death, how can we trust you to not surrender to Balak when the going gets tough." That comment earned Dsrondo a hard slap from Ashley.

"Don't you dare talk about my grandfather like that!" Ashley said seething with rage.

"I believe I made my point Commander, your girlfriend can't keep her damn temper in check and is probably every bit as a coward as her Grandfather was." Dsrondo said.

"Enough, both of you, Ashley I made it clear earlier that you would be working with Batarians, members of the McKansa family and a Geth, don't make me regret bringing you along!" I said before turning to Dsrondo. "Dsrondo I told you to stand down....."

"And I was going to until she decided to press the issue!" Dsrondo snapped back.

"Don't forget Dsrondo this mission is being done as a favour to you! I could just as easily send us all back to the Normandy and treat this like it never happened." I said.

"And risk human lives in the process?" Dsrondo pointed out, I sighed but before I could continue I got a call on my earpiece.

"Sheppard, it's Jenny, I've got a message for you." Jenny said over the earpiece.

"Care to explain why you almost compromised the mission?" I replied, she probably had heard enough about that from Drakus and Marcus but it needed to be said.

"Later, never thought I'd say this but the Asari councillor wants a word with you." Jenny said and my eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Patch her through." I replied and waited for her to do so. _"If this is some kind of practical joke by the McKansas I'll kick them off the Normandy and leave them on Tuchanka!" _I thought but that idea was swiftly dismissed when the Asari councillor's voice was heard.

"Sheppard, I never thought I'd call you in the middle of a mission but this is of grave importance!" The Asari Councillor said.

"What is it?" I asked once I shook off my surprise.

"The young soldier in your squad, Jenny McKansa I believe her name is, has inadvertently revealed that a SPECTER has gone rogue." My eyes widened in surprise.

"A Rogue SPECTER you say? I'm assuming that you wouldn't be calling if this was some sick joke?" I asked.

"Of course not Commander, the SPECTER'S name is Drodosri Combassi, he has served with the Turian Military for the past 50 years or so before being accepted into the Special Tactics And Recognisance Unit of the Council which was about a year and a half before you were accepted, he was chosen for his brilliant military mind and his expertise in Armed and Unarmed combat." I frowned.

"Drodosri is helping Balak by supplying him with SPECTER tech and they have somehow managed to get their hands on Nuclear Weapons manufactured by every council species save for humanity." Though I couldn't see her he could tell that her hey eyes had gone wide.

"By the goddess," The Asari councillor said.

"I never thought I'd ask you this councillor but could a SPECTER request samples from the Nuclear Arsenal of the council species?" I asked.

"Yes, but only in case of emergency for obvious reasons." The Asari councillor said.

"Can you check to see is Drodosri has requested any samples?" I asked.

"Give me a minute Commander." The Asari councillor replied. "Yes, Drodosri requested a large quantity of Nuclear Weapons last week to be delivered to the Turian Colony of Megsavus." She replied.

"Why there?" I asked.

"It's where he makes his residence when he isn't on duty." The Councillor replied.

"_He must've transported them from Megsavus." _I thought. "You said that a SPECTER could only request nukes in the case of an emergency, what emergency did Drodosri say that made the Council Species hade over samples from they're nuclear arsenal?"

"I can answer that Commander." The Turian councillor said. "Drodosri said in his request that he had discovered a Slavers HQ the size of a small city on an Uncharted World and planned to do something about it, we gave him instructions to free the Slaves and bomb the sight from Orbit."

"Did it occur to you that the amount he requested might of been excessive?" I asked.

"He said that he had discovered 19 other Slave Raid HQS similar to the one he discovered." The Turian Counciloor said. "If only we weren't so foolish to believe his story without checking it."

"Would Drodosri have any reason to hate humanity?" I asked.

"Hold on, I'm checking his personal history file." The Asari councillor replied.

"You have a personal history file on him?" I asked.

"We have personal history files on each member of the Council SPECTERS." The Asari councillor answered. "Here we are, he lost his father and brother in the First Contact War, his family's been an outspoken opponent of Human Expansion ever since, no word on whether or not he shared his family's views."The Councillor answered. "We briefly considered him for membership in your crew but due to family history we went with Tidoses instead."

"Sounds like you made the right choice Councillor." I replied.

"Indeed Sheppard and be careful, as far as combat is concerned he's evenly matched with you." The Asari councillor said before cutting off, knowing how serious the situation was I opened up all channels.

"Attention, this is Commander Sheppard, as of now the Stealth Part of the mission is over, Marcus I need your team to detain Balak and Drodosdi," Sheppard said.

"Got it Commander." Marcus answered.

"Legion, are the nukes disarmed?"

"Not all of the Nuclear Weapons are disarmed Sheppard Commander." Legion answered.

"How far along are you?" I asked.

"85% of the nuclear weapons have been disarmed, only nuclear weapons remaining are Turian made and those have some of the most advanced hacking protection this unit has seen since the attack on the Collector Base, this unit has come to the conclusion that Tidoses wasn't kidding." Legion answered.

"Okay, let me know when you're done, Marcus, you had better be careful when dealing with Drodosri according to the Council his skills are equal to mine." I said.

"Equal to yours Sheppard? Sounds like a worthy foe." Grunt said enthusiastically.

"What Grunt meant to say was that we'll exercise extreme caution Commander." Marcus answered.

"We're on our way over now, Sniper team line up shots on Balak and Drodosri, when I give the signal take the shots but only if they prove to be too difficult to handle." I said.

"Roger that Commander, we're lining up the shots now." Garrus said.

"Kirrahee, have the fleet assist Marcus' squad in the capture, don't give either of these bastards a chance to escape." I ordered.

"Understood Commander, we're moving in now." Kirrahee replied.

"Let's move people!" I ordered the rest of the squad and they followed me quickly to the nuke field, the STG and Marcus' group had the two of them surrounded on all sides.

"I'll ask you again, what's the meaning of this?" Balak asked.

"Why don't you ask him you Bosh'Tet?" Tali said angrily motioning to me.

"Commander Sheppard." Balak said turning around. "I should've known you'd be here to spoil the party.

"Party? I'm here to save this colony and prevent an intergalactic war that'll make the Krogan Rebellions look small time by comparison." I snapped back. "And for that matter why did you align yourself with Balak Dodrosri?"

"Why? We shared a common goal Commander!" The Turian SPECTER spat. "Humanity is nothing more than a more intelligent, taller Vorcha!" Dodosri said.

"I know you lost family during the Relay 314 Incident but is aligning yourself with the Galaxies Most Wanted Terrorist really the answer?" I asked trying to reason with him.

"How could you possibly understand Commander? I've read your file, Earthborn with no parents, the saviour of Elysium, impressive I must admit but you couldn't possibly understand the great injustice that my family suffered that day." Drodosri said.

"You didn't answer my question." I said calmly.

"Once the Council is dead we'll take our rightful place as rulers, humanity will be chased off to the Terminus Systems and once and for all my family will see justice done." Drodosri said and I sighed going for my earpiece to give Garrus the order.

"Are you really that foolish to think that Balak won't betray you once you've outlived you're usefulness?" Dsrondo said stepping forward.

"What's this? A traitor is our midst?" Drodosri asked.

"I never worked for you to begin with, why would I willingly align myself with the man who nearly dropped an Asteroid onto Terra Nova?" Dsrondo said and the Turian's eyes widened.

"I thought that was a rumour....." The Turian said realizing what he had done and pulled his gun on Balak. "Consider our partnership, and by extension the rest of your free life, over."

"You fool, aren't you forgetting something?" Balak produced a small switch. "With one flick of this switch we all die by nuclear fire!"

"Garrus, shoot him NOW!" I ordered but Balak laughed.

"Those nukes are designed to go off if my heart stops, not that it matters, **YOU'RE DEAD!!!!!!" **Balak said as he flipped the switch.


	18. Feros part 5

I closed my eyes waiting for the explosion, however no explosion came and I reopened my eyes seeing Balak furiously pounding the switch trying to get it to work whilst screaming obscenities in his people's native language.

"Sheppard Commander, all Nuclear Weapons have been disarmed." Legion said emerging from behind the last nuke only to be met with glares from everyone else. "Was it something that this unit said?"

"No, but let me put it this way, for a master hacker you have REALLY bad timing when it comes to disarming nukes." Zach said before turning to Jenny. "You can open your eyes now sis."

"Why? Are we in Heaven or something?" Jenny asked.

"Well if we were then why the hell is Balak with us?" Jenny opened her eyes and sighed with relief.

"Legion's bad timing not withstanding you are under arrest Balak." I said as the STG went to arrest him but Balak laughed.

"You have no idea what you're in for do you Commander?" Balak said. **"ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL!"**

"Garrus, take the shot now!" I yelled into my earpiece but by that time it was too late, Harbinger had taken control of Balak, Balak immediately started firing at Sheppard and his squad as they took cover behind the disarmed nukes. "Balak, do you have any idea what you have done?"

"Balak is no longer here Sheppard, when the Collector Base was destroyed we had to look for other methods to help us along and Balak here is the catalyst of that." Harbinger said through Balak's mouth.

"Drodosri, did you have any idea about this?" I asked turning to the SPECTER who shook his head.

"Balak never exhibited the signs typically associated with Indoctrination." Drodosri said. "Either that or he was hiding it very well."

"Sheppard it's Garrus, we've taken several shots at Balak but they don't seem to be doing very much damage, even the headshots." Garrus told me through my earpiece.

"Keep it up; you'll have to take him out at some point." I said as a rocket similar to the ones used by indoctrinated Collectors exploded near me.

"You may of defeated Sovereign and The Collectors but you are powerless against The Reaper Fleet." Harbinger taunted through Balak's mouth. "The time is almost at hand."

"We'll see about that Balak." I shouted when Balak suddenly became suspended by Biotics.

"Jack, Jenny, you two know what to do." Drakus told the two women whilst he suspended the indoctrinated Batarian in mid air with ease, Jenny and Jack fired two separate warps each at the floating Batarian sending him flying back first into a Disarmed Nuke.

"This changes nothing." Harbinger's voice said before releasing the control on Balak who struggled to get to his feet.

"I should've known aligning myself with a Reaper would be a bad idea." Balak said to himself as he pulled himself up and Jenny and Jack drew they're shotguns on him.

"You won't see the light of day ever again when we're done here Balak." I said drawing my own shotgun.

"We'll see about that, Harbinger may have left me but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve." Balak said. "I can see the rage in your eyes commander, how about we settle this man to man?" My eyes narrowed.

"What's the catch?" I demanded keeping my shotgun out.

"Simple really, I win and I go free......."

"Like hell!" I snapped, I let him go once but I wasn't going to do that again. "You'll pay for your crimes Balak, here and on Asteroid X57."

"What if I told you that there were other survivors?" My eyes narrowed.

"You know we rescued a colonist?" I asked.

"No thanks to your redhead friend here." Jenny's eyes narrowed. "The other condition is that if you win, and I must emphasize **if **then I let you know where the survivors are being kept, however if one of your crew interferes I win by disqualification."

"What's to stop me from sending a small squad on a sweep for survivors?" I asked.

"You could do that Commander but there's two problems with that, only I know the location where the survivors are and only my voice can grant you access to the room, off course you could just arrest me now but then you'd be condemning the rest of the survivors to a slow, painful death." Balak said and I growled.

I turned to Jenny and Jack who reluctantly holstered they're weapons. "Oh right but no funny business, if Harbinger shows up again I'll beat the shit out of you until you give us the location and a voice sample." I said secretly having my Onmi-Tool record his voice.

"Of course Commander but I expect the same from you." Balak said and I turned to the others.

"Everyone get on the other side of the fence, anyone interferes and they'll have to clean the Male Bathroom after Grunt has used it until The Reapers are destroyed." I said and they reluctantly did so but only Ashley approached me.

"Skipper, I understand you want justice for everyone that was killed and I understand you wanting to save the colonists but can you trust Balak?" Ashley asked.

"Ash, I never said I trust him, I trust him just as much as I trust a Varren to not try to bite my head off when I'm fighting a band of Blood Pack Mercenaries, and however I'd rather not leave Feros with only one colonist rescued." After making sure Balak was preoccupied I whispered the next part. "Take Drakus and Tali with you and search for the survivors, my Onmi-Tool has recorded Balak's voice, radio me when you find them and I'll have my Onmi-Tool send you the recording."

"Got it, skipper." Ashley said.

"Try to not attract that much attention whilst searching for them." I whispered before Ashley left, I turned to Balak. "I only have three conditions to add, no weapons, no Reaper indoctrination, just you and me one on one."

"My pleasure, it'll be extremely satisfying seeing you suffer." Balak said with a grin before charging at me with a fist outstretched, I caught the fist but Balak surprised me with a knee to the stomach knocking the wind out of me. "Don't underestimate me Sheppard." Balak said simply.

"I should say the same thing for you." I said sweeping Balak's legs and driving my knees into his chest, I started firing punches at Balak's face but he caught the last one and headbutted me in the face sending me stumbling.

"This is the mighty Commander Sheppard, the first human SPECTER?" Balak taunted me before charging but I sidestepped him and he went face first into one of the disarmed nukes.

"I may have said that no weapons were allowed but I didn't say anything about not using the environment around us." I said charging at Balak.

"Well now that you put it that way." Balak said grabbing a handful of soil and flinging it into my eyes blinding my temporary. Balak seized the opportunity and threw a half dozen fists into my face and body one even breaking my nose, however I regained my vision after the nose break and caught the fist, I squeezed on it hard and brought Balak to his knees before kneeing him in the face knocking him out.

"Sheppard, it's Ashley, we've found the hostages they're in the building that Exo-Geni used as they're HQ here and Balak was right about the voice recognition software." I smiled.

"Good, sending the recording now." I sent the recording of Balak's voice and waited.

"Hostages are free skipper." Ashley said.

"We'll transport Balak to the Citadel to stand trial for his many crimes Commander, Drodosri has surrendered and he's coming with us as well." Kirrahee said as his men arrested Balak.

"Good, if you want me to testify I'll be more than happy to do so, might be worth seeing if any of the surviving workers from Asteroid X57 and the surviving colonists are willing to testify." I added.

"Given what he put them through I wouldn't be surprised if they were." Dsrondo said stepping forward. "Thank you again Commander, you have done the universe a great favour by stopping my son." I looked at him surprised.

"He's your son?" I asked.

"Stepson to be precise, his father is serving a life sentence on the homeworld for murdering his mother when she went into labour; thankfully an emergency c-section saved his life." Dsrondo shook his head. "If they had known the evil that he would unleash upon the universe they would've let him die."

"There's no way in hell that son of a bitch will get anything less than the Death Penalty." I added.

"Death's too good for that bastard." Jacob added joining the two of us. "Nice moves Sheppard; though you had us worried for a minute there."

"Thanks Jacob, I'll have Chakwas check on me when we get back to the Normandy." I replied. "He was a better fighter than I expected."

"Don't be surprised Commander, I trained him in unarmed combat, guess I forgot to install a sense of honour into him." Dsrondo said as Ashley, Drakus and Tali came back with the freed hostages.

"We owe you our lives once again Commander." Juliana Baynham said walking up. "Where's my daughter?"

"She's on the Normandy; you can thank Jenny here for her safety." I added and Jenny blushed. "I'll send her down before we leave." I turned to Kirrahee whose men were already hard at work dismantling and transporting the nukes. "It was good working with you again Kirrahee." I said with a smile which was returned.

"The feeling is mutual Commander." Kirrahee stated.

"And it was fun for me to work with the STG again, very exciting, should do it again sometime!" Mordin was quick to add and Kirrahee laughed.

"That sounds good old friend." Kirrahee said.

"Come on people, we're heading back to the Normandy, Kirrahee do me a favour and keep me notified of any developments regarding Drodosri and Balak." I asked.

"I will do Commander." Kirrahee replied as we returned to the Normandy passing by Lizbeth as we did.


	19. Abandoned Ship

Sheppard leaned back on the medbay bed as Chakwas looked over him, Jenny was also here as she had suffered some First Degree Burns from Balak's attacks whilst he was indoctrinated by Harbinger, the ship was on its way to the Far Rim Cluster to investigate what happened to the Alliance Science team, mentally Sheppard hoped that it would go better than his last mission that involved an Alliance Science Team.

"Looks like you suffered minor injuries from the fight Commander." Chakwas said standing up. "Your nose took the worst of the damage but that should heel with time."

"Thanks Doc." Sheppard grinned.

"What about me?" Jenny asked folding her arms, Chakwas looked at her notes.

"Thankfully for you young lady the burns weren't as severe as initially feared." Chakwas reassured her and Jenny grinned. "You should both be good to go for the next mission."

"Good to know Chakwas, if you don't mind I want a word with Jenny, in private." Chakwas nodded and left the medbay. "How are you feeling?"

"I can't complain Commander." Jenny shrugged. "Limp's gone and the burns, while they still hurt, should be healed by the end of the week."

"You know that wasn't what I meant." Sheppard said sitting up.

"Oh, the whole "nearly compromised the mission" thing, I was under the impression that Drakus and Marcus already told you the info." She said and Sheppard sighed.

"They did but I'd rather here it from you." Sheppard said his tone firm; Jenny stared off into space for a few minutes trying to figure out how best to word it especially since she had calmed down since returning to the Normandy.

"To be honest Commander, I did the right thing in saving Lizbeth's life, stealth mission be damned." She replied. "In hindsight there's a lot of things I could've done differently not including any scenarios where I left the Batarian to his own devices but then again....."

"Hindsight's 20/20 right?" Sheppard asked knowing where she was going with this.

"Exactly." She said standing up wincing as felt the burns on her body. "I'm heading back to the crew's quarters; call me if you need me for the next mission."

"No need, I'm bringing the whole crew along for the next mission again." Jenny's eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Oh? What's the mission this time?" She asked and Sheppard filled her in on the details. "The Alliance Science Team, any idea what we'll find on the ship when we get there?" She nodded before asking the question.

"No idea, maybe some husks since we're going to be close to Reaper territory." Sheppard answered.

"I'm looking forward to it." She shrugged her notorious sarcasm showing through before she left, Chakwas entered the room again.

"I'm surprised she wasn't forced back in here Doc." Sheppard quipped.

"She was free to go anyway, and for that matter so are you." Chakwas said before sitting down at her desk, I got off the bed and left the medbay and headed up to the CIC and to Joker.

"Hey Commander, I'm glad Balak's getting what's coming to him though it was kind of scary seeing him indoctrinated." Joker said his usual joking manner long gone.

"You think that was scary? You should've seen it groundside." Joker shuddered.

"Thanks but I've already pissed myself from fear once and that was when Grunt greeted me with a shotgun during the two day trip to Feros." Joker said.

"Anyway how far out are we from the Far Rim Cluster?" Sheppard asked.

"We're about half an hour away Commander, we entered the Mass Relay while you and Jenny where getting patched up." Joker said. "I've got visual confirmation on the SSV Dirodia, pretty massive ship for an Alliance Science team." Joker commented. "Looks like a Frigate." Joker added.

"Tell everyone to meet me at the hanger." Sheppard said.

"Aye, Aye Commander." Joker said and minutes later we were all on the SSV Dirodia, the ship was almost too dark to see anything.

"Gee, what a nice place!" Marcus said looking around, Sheppard rounded a corner and his eyes widened when he saw a gruesome sight, a body of a man that had been cut in half at the waist. "Holy shit!" Marcus said rounding the corner.

"Human male, I need to take a look." Mordin said running up to the body. "Hmmm, cause of death appears to be being ripped in half leading to a swift bleed out." At that point the other members of the crew had rounded the corner.

"Gee you......wait, did you say ripped in half?" Zach asked feeling queasy.

"Yes, telltale hand marks on wrists and ankles judging from horrified expression on face he was most likely conscious in the process." Mordin replied shaking his head. "Also size of hand marks suggests that whoever did it, or whatever did it, was huge."

"To kill someone like that takes a lot of strength." Zeead said.

"Indeed, but here's the interesting part." Mordin said.

"The guy got ripped in half whilst alive and conscious and that's not the interesting part?" Jenny asked disbelieving.

"Quite right, does this logo look familiar to you Commander?" Mordin said holding up what left of the victim's arm revealing the Cerberus logo on the shoulder.

"Guess we know what happened to The Illusive Man's man on the inside." Jacob said.

"Yes, quite well hidden as well the logo had the Alliance logo sewed in over it, however whoever did the sowing got sloppy, was easily able to remove Alliance logo." Mordin said.

"Maybe the other crewmembers found out about it?" Miranda said.

"Possibly but the kind of strength this would take is inhuman, we may be talking about a new sapient species, possibly with close ties to The Reapers." Mordin said standing up.

"Come on, we've got the rest of the ship to investigate." Sheppard ordered and the rest of the squad followed him.

They walked down the hall occasionally seeing more bodies who suffered rather gruesome deaths but they continued until they passed what looked like the medbay of the ship, as Sheppard walked past in a panicked man in a doctor's uniform suddenly pounded on the glass.

"HELP ME! HELP ME!" He repeated as he repeatedly pounded on the glass, Sheppard could see a pair of glowing eyes in the background.

"Tali get this door open now!" Sheppard ordered and she went to work on the door but it was too late as a massive hand grasped the doctor by the head easily crushing it and just like that the glowing eyes disappeared.

"What was that?" Zach said.

"Hell if I know." Sheppard replied as Tali got the door open.

"Sheppard, how big approximately would you say that creature was?" Tali asked.

"About twice the size of an YMIR mech, why do you ask?" Sheppard asked.

"Because there's no way in hell something that big could fit through that door." Tali said and Sheppard looked confirming what Tali said.

"So what, something that big appeared in that room, killed that doctor and disappeared?" Drakus asked.

"That's pretty much it Drakus." Tali shrugged. "Did you get a good look at that.....thing?" Tali asked.

"No, all I saw was two glowing eyes in the darkness, classic sign of Harbinger's indoctrination." Sheppard said.

"Great, two encounters with Harbinger in the same week." Zach said.

"Speak for yourself; you didn't get burnt by Balak during the last mission." Jenny said folding her arms.

"Yeah, only this time we're facing an unknown enemy that'll probably make Balak look like a scarred puppy." Zeead chimed in.

"Do you mean in terms of size or intimidation factor?" Jenny asked.

"Both." Zeead shrugged.

"There's nothing more we can do for him, let's move on." Sheppard ordered and the four of them walked towards the ship's CIC.

"Commander I wouldn't advise going in there without a helmet." Joker's voice called. "There's a massive hole where the roof of the ship's CIC used to be."

"Thanks Joker." Sheppard said putting his helmet on as did the other crew members, they entered the CIC and Sheppard was quickly reminded of how he found the original Normandy's CIC when he rescued Joker.

"Think the same thing that's been brutally murdering the crew members did this to the roof?" Jenny asked looking around.

"Not sure, Tali see if you can get the ship's logs from the bridge." Tali nodded and went towards the bridge, looking around Sheppard saw another door leading to a separate area marked "Tech Lab" by a sign above the door. "Jenny, Drakus check the tech lab for survivors." The two of them nodded and entered the tech lab.

"STAY AWAY!" A frightened female voice rang out.

"Relax; we're here to rescue you." Jenny reassured her and she looked up, she looked to be in her early fifties with short grey hair and blue eyes.

"Thank god, everything's gone to hell since we discovered the Mass Relay in the damn sun." The scientist said. "My name is Elaine Matthews I'm the chief Tech expert for this ship."

"I'm Urdnot Drakus and this is Jenny McKansa." Drakus introduced the two of them. "And I wouldn't recommend coming with us without a helmet because there's a big hole in the place of the CIC'S Roof."

"Yes of course!" Elaine said grabbing a nearby helmet and putting it on.

"Tell us everything you remember." Jenny said.

"I was analyzing the data from the Reaper Relay when I heard a loud thud, next thing I knew I heard horrified screams coming from the CIC and what sounded like the footsteps off an overweight Elcor." Elaine said with a sigh. "Judging by the presence of a Krogan on your team I'm assuming that you're not with the Alliance."

"Well technically I am but at the moment I'm working with Commander Sheppard." Jenny explained.

"I see, never met the man myself but I've heard a great deal about him. It was all good off course." Elaine said.

"Well now is your chance to meet him, anyone else in here?" Elaine shook her head.

"No and the only way in here is via the CIC." Elaine explained.

"We're going to need your findings regarding the Reaper Relay." Drakus said.

"Of course, I have a backup of the data over here." Elaine said grabbing an OSD and handing it to Jenny who took it.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Elaine nodded and left with the two of them.

"Commander, we've found a survivor." Drakus called out when they left the Tech Lab.

"Good, Tali just gave me the ship's logs." Sheppard replied.

"They where encrypted for some reason but the encryption was very basic, shouldn't take me too long to decrypt them." Tali added.

"And I've got a gift of my own Commander." Jenny said handing him the OSD. "Backup of the research Elaine here was doing before the attack."

"I'm assuming it's up to date?" Sheppard asked.

"Of course it is." Elaine said with a nod.

"Normandy, get ready for pick up." Sheppard said.

"Aye, aye Commander, we'll be there in a few minutes." Joker said just then a loud thud was heard from behind them, they turned around and saw it.

It was a massive creature, jet black in colour with gold glowing eyes and sharp fangs with a head that resembled that of a wolf, it was muscular and Sheppard recognised it as the creature they saw earlier.

"OPEN FIRE!" Sheppard ordered the crew and Elaine got out of harm's way as the entire squad gave the monster everything they had but the bullets had no effect, suddenly the monster disappeared.

"What......the.....HELL......was THAT?" Zach stammered.

"Stay focused people." Sheppard ordered.

"HELP ME!" The entire crew turned around to see the monster clutching onto Elaine with an iron grip and judging from the look on Elaine's face she was in agony, however before Sheppard could do anything the monster ripped her in half killing her instantly.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!?" Joker's voice rang out over everyone's earpiece as the Normandy stopped alongside the ship.

"**EVERYONE ONTO THE NORMANDY, NOW!" **Sheppard ordered and the crew shook off the shock of the horrific death and legged it to the Normandy getting on and shutting the door behind them. "JOKER, GET US TO THE MASS RELAY NOW!" Sheppard ordered.

"HOLD ON!" Joker said speeding away.

"Joker, we have an anolmany on top of the ship." Joker did a double take.

"DID YOU SAY ON TOP?!" Joker said disbelieving. "Please don't let it be big and ugly, please don't let it be big and ugly....." A Massive fist shaped dent appeared on the Normandy's roof.

"Joker, lose that thing now!" Sheppard ordered.

"Everyone hold on!" Joker said as he did a loop de loop with the ship shaking the monster from the ship's roof.

"I have detected what appears to be the weakness of the creature Jeff, a small spot on the back of its neck."

"That thing has a neck? Ah screw it! EDI fire the Thanix Cannons at that thing!" Joker ordered. "Don't even think about holding back!"

"Of course, Joker." EDI said firing the Thanix Cannons, the monster howled in pain for a few seconds before distintergrating. Sheppard let out a deep breath.

"Joker, mass relay, now." Sheppard ordered.

"Got it Commander." Joker said.

"Take us to the Citadel, the Council needs to know what we found down there." Sheppard said.

"That was the last of those.....things right?" Jenny asked visably shaken from Elaine's gruesome death. "Right?"

"I can't say for sure." Sheppard said simply before heading to the Galaxy map.


	20. Council meeting

"Joker, how long will it be until we reach the Citadel?" Sheppard asked approaching the bridge, it had been a few days since the mission onboard the abandoned ship and Sheppard had ordered the crew's mental health to be evaluated by Kelly and according to Kelly the worst affected was the McKansa siblings seeing as how they where the youngest of the crew members.

"Half an hour tops." Joker said with a yawn.

"You haven't gotten any sleep either?" Sheppard asked upon seeing the bags under Joker's eyes.

"How could I? I landed the ship just as that.....THING ripped that woman in half." Joker said with a shudder. "You're uncertainty about whether or not there's more of those things didn't exactly help either." Joker added.

"Please tell me you let EDI fly the ship for once?" Sheppard asked.

"I'm not stupid Commander, for once I let EDI fly the ship to the Citadel, might ask Marcus if he could show me were the strip club is, maybe seeing half naked girls will get my spirits up." Joker shrugged.

"You sure you don't just want an excuse to go to the strip club?" Jenny teased walking up.

"Ha, ha, very funny Jenny." Joker muttered.

"I certainly thought so," Jenny said with a grin.

"How have you been feeling since the last mission?" Sheppard asked her and she shuddered.

"Thanks for bringing that memory back." Jenny replied. "To be brutally honest I feel fucking horrible, that woman suffered a horrible death and I was helpless to stop it."

"We all were." Sheppard said ignoring Jenny's potty mouth. _"I swear, if Jenny and Jack started putting pennies in swear jars every time they said a swear word they'd be rich enough to buy a house on the Citadel." _Sheppard thought with a chuckle. "I'll be presenting video evidence taken from my Onmi-Tool alongside Dr. Matthew's research and the ships logs, which Tali just deciphered, too the council, if you don't want to relive that memory you can stay on the Citadel or the Normandy as we're having another shore leave to help the crew get over what happened."

"YES! That means more Shore leave for me!" Joker yelled.

"Try not to get arrested again Joker." Jenny teased.

"Laugh it up, laugh it up!" Joker said flipping her off playfully. "By the way we've just landed on the Citadel."

"Thanks Joker, Jenny your free to do as you wish unless Thane asks you to assist him but he'll discuss that with you later if he does." Sheppard added.

"Got it." She shrugged.

"Joker, be sure to let the other crew members know about the shore leave when they come up, I'll be busy at the Citadel Tower." Sheppard said.

"Finally rebuilt that thing huh?" Joker quipped as the previous times they had visited the Tower was still under repairs, which was why the meeting between him and the council took place in the Human Embassy.

"Yeah, Anderson told me himself when I mailed him about the meeting." Sheppard said.

"Sheppard, I've finally decrypted the ship's logs, seems that the crew was being indoctrinated prior to the attack on the ship." Tali said walking up.

"That's strange; Elaine didn't seem indoctrinated when me and Drakus found her." Jenny chimed in.

"Maybe she was in the early stages of indoctrination?" Tali suggested.

"Possibly, but seeing as how I've never dealt with Indoctrination victims before I didn't notice it." Drakus said joining the crew members on the bridge.

"Even if you had you wouldn't notice it at first, indoctrination's a subtle process, typically taking weeks or even years." Tali told the Krogan.

"If you ask me there's nothing subtle about being brainwashed." Drakus said. "Or Grunt wanting to fight one of those creatures in hand to hand combat."

"Yeah I guess you're-did you say Grunt wants to fight one of those things?" Joker asked.

"Yeah." Drakus said shaking his head. "He's strong but not that strong, he'd be tossed around the room like a Pyjack fighting a Krogan battlemaster."

"Thanks for the amusing mental image, and by amusing I mean strangely disturbing." Joker said.

"Anyway here's the Ships logs Sheppard." Tali said handing over an OSD with the logs on them.

"Thanks Tali." Sheppard said taking them. "To help you guys get over what happened on the ship you're on shore leave." Drakus shrugged.

"Didn't affect me, I watched the members of my Krant get eaten alive by a single Thrasher Maw so nothing really affects me that deeply anymore." The Krogan shrugged. "Not that I don't appreciate the day off."

"I'm off to the Citadel Tower, if any of you run into any trouble on the Citadel don't heisitate to contact me on my earpiece." The crew members nodded and Sheppard went onto the Citadel and the wards and saw Bailey watching a couple of C-Sec officers escorting a Turian to interrogation. "Hey Bailey, are you still up for that drink?" Bailey looked up and smiled.

"Sorry Sheppard, I'm on duty." Bailey said.

"Will you be off duty in an hour?"

"Yeah, why?" Bailey asked.

"I've got a meeting with the council and after that I'm free." Bailey grinned.

"Another shore leave huh? I'll meet you at the Dark Star Lounge as soon as your done in that case!" Sheppard grinned.

"See you there." Sheppard said before going to the Rapid Transet and to the Citadel Tower, the tower still looked the same as it did two years ago the main difference being that security was a lot tighter.

"Sorry sir, I can't let you proceed any further with those weapons." A Turian guard stopped Sheppard.

"I'm a Council SPECTER and the council's expecting me." Sheppard said. "Of course you could always explain to the Council why you made the saviour of the Citadel late for a meeting."

"Good point, you can move along." The Turian Guard said before moving onto the next guest, Sheppard went to the top of the tower and was greeted by the Council members.

"Hello again Commander, thanks to you Balak is in custody and Drodosri is willing to testify against him in exchange for a reduced sentence and his SPECTER status revoked." The Asari Councillor greeted.

"Thanks but that's not the reason I came by today." Sheppard said getting his Onmi-Tool ready. "After the Feros mission me and my crew investigated what happened to the Alliance Science Team in the Far Rim Cluster." Sheppard said.

"We're familiar with the story Commander, Councillor Anderson was kind enough to fill us in on it before the meeting started," The Salarian Councillor stated.

"I'm going to get this out the way, some of the images I'm about to play are pretty graphic, if anyone wants me to fast forward through a part of the video don't hesitate to ask." Sheppard said.

"Thanks for the warning Sheppard, we'll keep that in mind." Anderson said.

"Also I retrieved the ship's logs and the research that the team was conducting in the sector; I'm forwarding them to your Onmi-Tools now." Sheppard said and the Councillor's looked at their Onmi-Tools and nodded to confirm that they had the data.

"We'll review the crew's findings after this meeting." The Asari Councillor said as Sheppard had his Onmi-Tool start playing the footage.

"We can't see much Commander." Anderson pointed out.

"That's because we couldn't see much ourselves." Sheppard said as the body of the Cerberus operative was shown on the video.

"By the goddess." The Asari councillor said covering her mouth in shock.

"Well, I did warn you." Sheppard pointed out.

"True." Anderson said, the footage shown next was off the first sighting of the monster. "Those glowing eyes, does that mean that this creature is a servant of the Reapers?"

"Possibly, and we have no idea if there's any more out there." Sheppard said as the footage showed the crew entering the CIC.

"What on Earth happened to the roof?" Anderson said.

"Your guess is as good as mine; our leading theory is that that's how the monster got onto the ship." Sheppard said.

"Are you saying this thing can breathe in Space?" The Turian Councillor asked.

"Considering it tried to attack the Normandy in the same fashion, yes." Sheppard said. "Thankfully all it managed to do was create a large dent in the roof of the Normandy."

"I told you myself that that armour would take some serious firepower to even course I dent in it and your telling me that thing damn near punched through it?" Anderson asked.

"Not only that but it took a shot from the Thanix Cannons to finally destroy that thing and that was only after we discovered a weakness, a small area on the back of its neck." The Councillor's look troubled at that news.

"My god, if something like that attacked the Citadel we'd all be dead in a matter of months, if we're lucky." Anderson said.

"And C-Sec would be helpless to stop it." The Turian Councillor realised. "Even if they discovered the creature's weakness it took a ship mounted weapon powerful enough to take out the Ascension on one hit to destroy it."

"That's not all." Sheppard said as the footage showed the monster kill Elaine.

"We've seen enough, Commander." The Salarian Councillor said shuddering.

"Hold on, reverse the video and pause it where you get a good full shot of the creature, preferably without it tearing that poor woman in half." Anderson said and Sheppard complied. "Councillors, does that look familiar to you?" The other Councillor's studied the monster when they realised what he was talking about.

"Sheppard, we believe this thing is a member of Krylkock race." The Asari councillor said.

"That sounds familiar." Sheppard said.

"After they apprehended Balak and Drodosri the next assignment for Captain Kirrahee and his crew was to investigate a newly discovered Mass Relay on the boarders of the Terminus Systems and if possible make first contact with any sapient species they find." Anderson said. "Instead they found that the relay leads to one cluster of planets and on the planet closest to the systems sun they found the ruins of an ancient, long extinct race."

"The Krylkock." Sheppard interrupted. "You think that's the work of the Reapers?"

"All evidence points that way Commander." The Turian Councillor said. "Based on the evidence they found the Krylkock were not unlike the modern day Krogan, a Warrior race where the only thing that mattered was strength and ruthlessness only they made the Krogan look like the Hanar by comparison."

"They were abnormally strong, a natural response to the high gravity of their homeworld, not only that but they were also incredibly hostile." The Salarian Councillor chimed in.

"Carbon dating puts they're ruins at the age of 130,000 years old, also it appears that they where among the first to discover the Mass Relays only they tried using it to wage war on the other species and as a result where drove back to their system by the other races, unfortunately for them this was around the time of The Reapers arrival." The Asari councillor said. Sheppard took a deep breath.

"What I'm about to say may shock you, you remember that when I came back originally I was investigating the Collector attacks?" The Councillors nodded. "I was investigating a supposedly derelict Collector ship looking for a way through the Omega 4 Relay and whilst I was there I found evidence that the Collectors where Protheans repurposed by The Reapers." Predictably this statement elected a shocked response from everyone else.

"Sheppard, do you have any idea what kind of ramifications that statement could have if disproven?" Anderson asked.

"I do Councillor which is why I came prepared." Sheppard said forwarding the Evidence that EDI found through his Onmi-Tool, when they looked at the data they nodded.

"This is huge Sheppard, proving that The Reapers are real was one thing but this?" Anderson said unable to finish.

"The reason I brought this up is because I believe that the Krylkock where repurposed in the same way as the Protheans where repurposed." Sheppard said.

"That seems plausible enough Commander but we'll need proof." The Turian Councillor said.

"Then maybe I'll find it at the Krylkock's homeworld." The councillors look at each other and nodded.

"We'll forward the coordinates of the Mass Relay and the name of the planet to your ship's helmsman Commander." The Salarian Councillor said.

"Be careful Sheppard, it's a high gravity world where a simple fall could cripple you." Anderson said. "And that was something that a member of the STG found out the hard way."

"Is the STG member going to be alright?" Sheppard asked.

"He's confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life but he's otherwise fine." The Salarian Councillor said.

"That's not all, the Krylkock shared that world with several hostile non sapient species that haven't been encountered anywhere else." The Asari councillor said.

"Got it, the crew's on shore leave at the moment to help them get over what happened and to give the Normandy a chance to get repaired, soon as we've recruited Liara we'll visit the planet." Sheppard said.

"Very good Commander, and good luck." The Asari councillor said as Sheppard left.


	21. Dark Star meeting

Sheppard waited in the Dark Star Lounge for Bailey to arrive, it had been a little under an hour since the meeting with the council ended and Joker had already confirmed that he had the Planet's coordinates and the name of the planet though needless to say Joker wasn't to thrilled about visiting the home planet of the Krylkock.

"_I can't say I don't blame him." _Sheppard thought to himself, some of the other crewmembers were sitting at a nearby booth (including Jenny which surprised Sheppard because the legal drinking age for humans on the Citadel was 21) who Sheppard had already said hi too.

"Sorry I was late Sheppard, had some paperwork to do." Bailey said sitting down opposite Sheppard. "So, I here you gave quite the revelation during the Council meeting."

"I take it you mean the final fate of the Protheans?" Sheppard asked though he already knew the answer.

"Yeah, several Hanar workers have gone on strike as a result, including the porn stars." Sheppard nearly choked on his drink at the last thing he mentioned.

"Thanks, I didn't need the next five years worth of meals." Sheppard said getting a laugh out of Bailey.

"You think that's bad? Just imagine the look on the C-Sec officer's face when one of the Hanar mentioned Hanar/Elcor porn." Sheppard could've sworn he heard screams of terror coming from the crewmembers booth when Bailey mentioned that.

"I REALLY don't want to know the details." Sheppard said with a shudder.

"Neither do I." Bailey said shaking his head. "Anyway it's a good thing that you accepted my offer Sheppard, gives me a chance to tell you something."

"What's that?" Sheppard asked.

"Remember the C-Sec Requisitions officer?" Sheppard nodded. "He wants a word with you and two members of your crew, the first being Ashley Williams."

"I'll make sure she gets the message." Sheppard said. "Who else does he want to talk too?"

"He wants to talk too a Krogan on your team, what was his name again? Ah yeah, now I remember, Urdnot Drakus."

"What does he want with me?" Drakus asked walking up.

"I take it you didn't get the memo." Bailey said.

"If by that you mean I have no idea what the hell you're talking about then yes." Drakus said.

"You're a strong candidate for the Council SPECTERS." Bailey said and Sheppard nearly did a spit take whilst Drakus looked surprised, pleasantly surprised mind you.

"Ashley mentioned that a Krogan was being considered, just thought they would've gone with a younger Krogan." Drakus said sitting down when an Asari waitress came up.

"Hi, can I take your order?" The waitress asked leaning forward to show off her cleavage in hopes of getting a better tip.

"Get me the strongest stuff you've got in this joint." Drakus said.

"Well you certainly look like you can take it." The waitress commented, Zach, who was also at the crewmember's table, almost made a "take it where" joke but was shut up by a glare from Drakus.

"I'll just have the best human beer you've got." Bailey said.

"Same here." Sheppard said.

"Got it, should be coming up soon." The Asari waitress said before walking towards the crewmember's booth.

"So why does the Requisitions officer want a word with me?" Sheppard asked.

"Some new toys for you to try out, Tidoses has already received her gift from him and you're next on his list." Bailey said.

"Any idea what these "toys" are?" Bailey shook his head.

"That's light years out of my jurisdiction I'm afraid." Bailey said shaking his head. "If you want the details either ask Tidoses or find out for yourself, he has an office on the Wards opposite the interrogation room you used to interrogate Elias Kellum." Bailey said.

"I'll be sure to pay him a visit unless I bump into Tidoses." Sheppard said.

"So, about me becoming a SPECTER, what happens now?" Drakus asked as the waitress brought them there drinks.

"You'd have to ask Tidoses about that." Bailey said.

"If you're worried don't be, I'm sure with your experience and combat prowess you'd make a great SPECTER." Sheppard said and Drakus laughed.

"Feel sorry for the poor bastard they send me against first." Drakus said.

"With that attidude all they'd need to say is that they're sending you in and whoever the terrorist is would surrender almost immediately." Bailey said with a smile.

"Yeah, but that's if they're lucky enough to get a warning." Drakus said with a grin.

"Commander, would you mind talking in private?" Tidoses said walking up.

"Sure Tidoses, you two don't mind do you?" Drakus and Bailey shook their heads.

"Nah, besides it's not often that I get to talk with a Krogan Battlemaster without it being an Interrogation." Bailey said, Sheppard walked outside with Tidoses and went into the wherehouse which was closed for some privacy.

"What is it?" Sheppard asked

"I'm not usually one to involve personal matters in a mission but this is something that could affect Galactic Stability." Tidoses began pacing back and forth.

"If it affects my crew members I'll help but I'll need details." Sheppard said.

"Indeed, I asked Garrus for advice regarding this and he mentioned that you had helped him and the other members of the crew in the past." Tidoses said with a nod. "When I'm not on duty I spend my time with my family on Palaven, my father is one of the most respected diplomats in Turian society but I have received some troubling news, he is being charged with Treason and has asked me to represent him at his trial."

"You mean as an attorney?" Sheppard asked and she nodded. "I had no idea you had law training."

"I briefly entertained the idea of becoming an Attorney after retiring from Combat, I even went to a Part Time Law School on Palaven, however when I was accepted into the SPECTERS my plans changed." Tidoses said.

"I don't understand this, why doesn't your father want to hire a professional lawyer? With the amount of credits he must make he could probably afford some of the best lawyers in the Galaxy." Sheppard said confused.

"That's what I told him but this is where things get......complicated." Tidoses said. "My father is afraid that some of his co-conspirators will attempt to silence him and he wants me to protect him from any attacks and defend him in court."

"Who are his co-conspirators?" Sheppard asked.

"They are fellow diplomats from all corners of Turian space." Tidoses said shaking her head. "I'm afraid I don't know much more than that."

"I'm assuming the trial's taking place on Palaven?" Tidoses nodded. "We'll be there ASAP, but as I'm sure you understand the mission takes priority."

"Off course Commander, I'll give Joker the coordinates for Palaven as soon as we're back on duty." Tidoses said walking out of the warehouse; Sheppard followed her back to the Dark Star Lounge and rejoined Drakus and Bailey.

"Are you two getting along all right?" Sheppard asked as he sat down.

"Better than expected, Drakus and I surprisingly have a lot in common." Bailey said with a smile.

"Sheppard, sorry to delay your drink even further but I want a word, in private." Drakus said and Sheppard sighed.

"If anyone on my crew has any issues they want dealt with before the arrival of the Reapers or you have something to say in regards to the Reaper mission raise your hand now." Zach and Legion raised they're hands. "Follow me." Sheppard said leading the three of them out and back to the warehouse.

"Since you asked first Drakus you can go first." Sheppard said.

"About ten minutes after we finished our business in the Far Rim Cluster I got a message from Wrex; he's willing to lend the united Krogan forces in the battle against The Reapers, on one condition." Drakus said.

"What's the condition?" Sheppard asked.

"Mordin cures the Genophage." Drakus said simply.

"That's not going to be easy; the Genophage is an advanced bioweapon." Sheppard pointed out.

"Not to mention the Galactic ramifications surrounding such a cure." Zach chimed in.

"This unit suggests talking to Mordin about it and getting his opinion on the matter." Legion said.

"I wouldn't recommend talking to him yet, the beer he's been having has gone straight to his head." Zach said.

"I'll talk to him once he's sober and I'll get back to you Drakus when I get an answer from him." Sheppard said, Drakus nodded and returned to the nightclub. "Legion, what do you want to talk about?"

"The Geth have reached a consensus, they are willing to cooperate with the creators." Sheppard's eyes widened and Zach looked confused.

"What do you mean by Creators?" Zach asked.

"It's what the Geth call the Quarians." Sheppard answered.

"Ah, I gotcha." Zach said nodding in understanding.

"We believe that the alliance will be instrumental in the defeat of the Old Machines, and to answer your next question McKansa Zach the Old Machines are what you call The Reapers." Legion said.

"Oh, I thought we had entered a war with sentient Laptops from the early 20th century." Zach joked getting a laugh from Sheppard.

"Now if you excuse this unit, this unit will ignore the pitiful attempts at humour by McKansa Zach and return to the Normandy." Legion left the warehouse whilst Zach stood there with his jaw dropped.

"Did Legion just burn me?" Zach eventually muttered.

"You wanted to talk about something?" Sheppard asked and Zach nodded.

"Oh yeah, you remember how I talked about how the youngest McKansa sibling is on the Autism spectrum?" Sheppard nodded. "Well she's been dating this guy for a little over a year now only he's been taking advantage of her and cheating on her."

"Let me guess, she just found out?" Zach nodded. "Why does this require my attention?"

"Well she broke up with the asshole, problem is his dad's a high ranking officer in the local police department and is threatening to make life for Kate even worse unless she takes his son back." Sheppard's eyes narrowed.

"That's pretty low; I assume we're going to Edinburgh?" Zach nodded.

"One request though, don't bring Jenny, I like to limit my shotgun castrations to once per lifetime." Zach added.

"I take it so knows as well?" Sheppard asked and he nodded.

"Yeah, we had a big argument over who would be Sophie's Knight in Shining Armour that ended with a multiplayer game of Alliance Corsair, I won obviously." Zach said.

"Yeah, but that was only because of your dumb luck." Jenny said making her brother jump.

"How long have you stood there?" Sheppard asked.

"I've been standing here since Legion's wicked and accurate burn." Jenny said with a smirk. "I just knew you'd be talking to the Commander about this."

"Oh yeah, it's not like I have a massive ship with a dedicated and talented crew at my command." Zach said sarcastically. "Though having one of those would kick ass."

"I'm sure it would." Sheppard chuckled. "What's the plan when you find Sophie's ex?"

"Beat the shit out of him, scare him off and have a nice friendly chat with his daddy." Zach said cracking his knuckles.

"Then let me help, unless you want to go to prison for Aggravated Assault." Zach smiled.

"Thanks Commander, you won't regret this." Zach said with a smile.

"By the way, I've brought you some Colossus Armour; it's waiting for you in the crew's quarters." Zach's smile grew wider.

"You're the best Commander." Zach said leaving.

"You're not going with him?" Sheppard asked.

"Considering Mordin somehow got Grunt to do a Karaoke duet of YMCA?" The look on Sheppard's face was priceless.

"Seriously?" Sheppard asked.

"Dead serious, and yes Tali's recording it with her Onmi-Tool." Jenny smirked.

"I'm going back in anyway, if you want to return to the Normandy you're free to do so, just don't get Joker to take for a joyride across the Terminus Systems." Sheppard said and Jenny acted mock appalled.

"Who? Me? I learned that lesson when I took my dad's car for joyride when I was 16." Jenny joked.

"Do I even need to ask what happened to that car?" Sheppard asked.

"Not really." Jenny replied leaving the warehouse, as they did an indoctrinated Krylkock emerged from the shadows.

"Wait my pet." Harbinger's voice commanded. "Sheppard's already defeated one of us but he won't defeat another." The Krylkock nodded and vanished.


	22. Clearing name's of the past

Shore Leave came and went and so did the Normandy's repairs, but now Sheppard had Ashley's loyalty mission to complete, Thane had chosen Samara and Zeead to escort Kolyat to the Normandy and he was with Ashley and Marcus and was on their way to the apartment where the Historian lived which was on the Presidium the rest of the crew was on the Normandy and after this mission they would be on their way to Ilium to pick up Liara and to finish the recruitment for the Reaper mission but Sheppard had some things to take care of first and Ashley's loyalty mission was first onm his to do list.

"Nice place for a Historian." Marcus commented.

"Yeah, he's pretty well respected in the field, want proof of that just look around you." Ashley said in reply.

"Stay focused, we need to make sure that Teridus makes it to the meeting." Sheppard said. "What room number does he live in again?" Sheppard asked Ashley.

"Number 53, why do you ask Sheppard?" Ashley asked.

"Well in that case we're here." Sheppard said stopping at the door, however something was wrong. "The door's been forced open." Sheppard said.

"Not a good sign." Marcus said drawing his weapon and Ashley and Sheppard did likewise, Sheppard kicked down the door and saw a Krogan standing around with a shotgun.

"Come on Teridus, I know you're here!" The Krogan said.

"FREEZE!" Sheppard shouted and the Krogan looked up, his clan markings identifying him as a member of Urdnot. "What do you want with Teridus?"

"What? Isn't it obvious? The old bastard is worth a lot of money." The Krogan said and his eyes narrowed. "You're Commander Sheppard aren't you?"

"That's right, and I'm buddies with your clan leader." Sheppard said.

"I maybe on assignment but that does not mean I'm not stupid, if I kill you I'll risk the Death Penalty if word ever reached Wrex and so, out of respect for you, I'll step down." The Krogan said holstering his shotgun.

"Anyone else want Teridus dead?" Sheppard asked.

"I can't tell you that." The Krogan said.

"That's fine, as long as you don't mind me telling Wrex that you threatened me the next time I'm on Tuchanka." The Krogan's eyes widened.

"But I didn't....." The Krogan started.

"You really think he's going to believe my word over yours?" Sheppard asked folding his arms.

"You drive a hard bargain Sheppard, oh right I'll tell you, there's assassins waiting for the historian in the parking lot of this building, your best bet will be to exit via the backdoor." The Krogan said.

"If you're lying you'll have hell to pay." Marcus said.

"Then it's a good thing that I'm not lying to you." The Krogan answered back.

"Get out of here before I change my mind." Sheppard said and the Krogan left quickly.

"Thank you Sheppard, but I could've handled him myself." Teridus said emerging from behind the desk. "Ms. Williams, not sure if you've noticed but I'm in a spot of bother right now."

"Assassins are threatening you're life and the only way you can describe it is that you're in a spot of bother?" Marcus asked.

"Nothing I can't handle, despite what the news might tell you I can still hold my own in a fight." Teridus said grabbing an old assault rifle from beneath the desk.

"Look no offence intended but we're dealing with professional assassins here and whilst I'm sure you're more than capable of defending yourself you'll be screwed if that thing jams on you." Marcus pointed out.

"True enough, luckily I've prepared for such an occasion." Teridus said activating a hidden leaver with his Onmi-Tool which opened a secret door disguised as a bookcase. "That will take us under the streets and straight to where the my speech will be heard."

"Mind if I ask you something before we go?" Sheppard asked.

"Don't see why not, what do you want to know?" Teridus asked.

"Why do you want to clear General Williams' name?" Teridus chuckled.

"Had a feeling that that was you're question Sheppard, to put it simply I find the Turian's actions during the 314 incident deplorable and that the same time I understand why Williams had to surrender Shanxi, you're people where still newcomers on the Galactic Scene at the time and you didn't know better, if I was in charge of the unit I wouldn't of approached the situation differently, and I definitely wouldn't of accepted Robert McKansa's information." Teridus said.

"You talk about First Contact like you could've done something about it." Marcus pointed out.

"Because I could've, I was young at the time and I was in charge of another unit, unfortuenetely I got to the Alliance explorers after my compatriot had massacred them, Ms. Williams there's something I left out of the message intentionally, General Williams won't be the only name I'll be clearing tonight."

"What do you mean?" Sheppard asked.

"I'll be clearing Robert McKansa's name as well." Ashley's eyes narrowed.

"That man's a damn traitor; his family deserves the treatment it got." Ashley snapped.

"_Boy am I glad I didn't bring the McKansas along for this mission." _Sheppard thought already imagining the choice of words Jenny and Zach would use if they were here. "What Ashley MEANT to say was why are you clearing Robert's name as well?"

"Like I said I was young at the time, Robert's family was threatened by the man in charge of the operation and was given a small amount of credits in exchange, he was going to tell the Alliance this but the Turians had already beaten him too it." Ashley's eyes widened.

"Damn, I had no idea." Ashley said regretting her words about the McKansas already.

"Two of my crewmembers are members of the McKansa family, this news will mean a lot to them." Sheppard said.

"I'm sure it will Sheppard." Teridus said.

"I thought all Turians sure First Contact as a Police action, to stop an ignorant species from violating intergalactic law." Marcus pointed out.

"That's maybe the official story but as the old saying goes there's always too sides of the same coin, I was against the actions taken by the Turians during the incident, I was willing to find a peaceful solution but like I said before I got there too late." Teridus said with regret in his voice.

"This news will mean nothing unless we get him to that meeting in one piece." Marcus pointed out.

"Of course, follow me." Teridus said leading them into the chamber; they only encountered two more assassins before reaching the meeting place.

"Sheppard, it's Thane, Kolyat is safely on the Normandy." Thane said over the earpiece.

"Good timing Thane, I've just escorted Teridus to where he's giving his speech." Sheppard said. "And tell Jenny and Zach to turn on the TV and change the channel too Citadel news, I think they'll find the information interesting to say the least." Sheppard said.

"I will do Commander." Thane said before hanging up.

"Well, this is my chance to make a difference, I must offer my thanks Sheppard, and without you I doubt I would've made it to this building." Teridus said shaking Sheppard's hand.

"The pleasure's all mine Teridus." Sheppard said with a smile, Teridus got the notes for his speech out and Ashley, Marcus and Sheppard joined the audience as he prepared to give his speech.

"I stand before you an old man with a distinguished military background, however what I am going to tell you today will carry weight long after my death, I am here before you today to clear the names of Robert McKansa and General Williams, two Alliance soldiers who where a part of the 314 incident." The mention of those names caused some discussion among the Alliance reps. "I'll start with the man that has been called many things, a traitor, and a coward, a disgrace to the Alliance, as a veteran of the Relay 314 incident I find these accusations disgusting."

"These accusations as you call them are well merited." An Alliance rep quickly pointed out.

"I understand that this is confusing to you all but as someone who was there on the day of the 314 incident I can tell you that the Turians threatened the lives of Robert's family if he didn't tell them the info they needed." A shocked gasp filled the room and Teridus continued. "I may not possess the perfect memory of the Drell but what I do possess is this." Teridus said activating his Onmi-Tool. "I have just forwarded documents, records and other assorted things that back up my story to your Onmi-Tools gentlemen." Teridus said as the reps checked they're Onmi-Tools and nodded.

"We have received them Teridus, thank you." The Alliance Rep that had spoken out before said.

"And now onto General Williams, a man whose name is far more respected than Robert McKansa's name though let's face it, that's not saying much." Teridus said getting a chuckle out of the Alliance reps and Ashley. "In all seriousness though, whilst General Williams didn't betray the Alliance like Robert did if it wasn't for his surrender Shanxi would have been obliterated, further more he saved countless lives by surrendering and these documents prove how unjust his treatment and the treatment of his family was." Teridus said forwarding the info via the Onmi-Tool.

"Thank you Teridus, we will need some time to deliberate on this." The Alliance rep said before all five of the reps went into another room.

"He has a way with words." Marcus observed.

"Yeah, guess that's why he's been so successful so far." Ashley agreed. Two hours later the Alliance Reps returned.

"After much deliberation we have decided, on a vote of one to four......to clear Robert McKansa and General Williams of all wrong doing and extend an invitation to their ancestors to join the Alliance as an apology." Ashley smiled broadly and Sheppard could only imagine what was going through Zach and Jenny's minds at the moment.

"Thank you for your time Gentlemen." Teridus said his mandibles indicating a respectful smile.

"Come on, let's head back to the Normandy, I have to go see Mordin in the tech lab anyway." Sheppard said as the three of them left the building.

"Sheppard, it's Thane, Kolyat is safely on his way back to C-Sec, Bailey has promised me that there will be increased security for Kolyat incase the contractor tries to kill them. Also I have a message from Jenny and Zach, they can't thank that "Turian geek" I believe they called him enough for clearing the name of their grandfather." Thane said and Sheppard chuckled at the Turian geek line.

"Tell them that I'm glad that I was able to help." Sheppard said as they approached the Rapid Transet and returned to the Normandy, now that Ashley's loyalty was secure they were done on the Citadel.

"Joker, set a course for Ilium." Sheppard ordered.

"Got it Commander." Joker answered.

"Well Sheppard, if you excuse me I'm going to apologize to Jenny, it's the least I can do." Ashley said as she went towards the elevator.

"I'll be in the Armoury if you need me Sheppard." Marcus said, Sheppard entered the Tech Lab and saw Mordin hard at work as always.

"Hello Mordin." Sheppard greeted him.

"Oh, hello Sheppard, what can I do for you?" Mordin said.

"How's the Genophage cure coming along?" Sheppard asked.

"Quite well but I'm concerned about the ramifications about such a cure, besides it would take years to complete it." Mordin said.

"We have a problem then, the Krogans are willing to help in the Reaper war but they want the Genophage cured in return." Mordin stopped what he was doing and looked at Sheppard.

"That might be a problem, might want to go to Tuchanka and work out a deal that will benefit both parties." Mordin said. "How did you find out about this?"

"Drakus told me." Sheppard said and Mordin nodded.

"Hmm, yes that makes sense since Drakus was Wrex's protégé; by the way I heard you picked up some new equipment from the C-Sec requisitions officer." Sheppard nodded.

"Yeah, I was given the Inferno armour and the Blackstorm Projector." Mordin looked up surprised.

"Did you say the Blackstorm? I've heard about it, has the ability to fire artificial singularities." Mordin said.

"That and among other things." Sheppard replied. "The equipment should help on the Krylkock's home planet."

"Ah yes, I remember hearing about that, I personally recommend bringing Grunt and Drakus along for the mission." Mordin said.

"What makes you say that?" Sheppard asked.

"Simple really, Krogan are tougher than most of the other races, they should be able to fall without risk of injury, or worse." Mordin said and Sheppard rubbed his chin.

"I can see what you mean." Sheppard nodded.

"I also heard that the Alliance has cleared the names of Robert McKansa and General Williams, I'm happy for both parties in that respect." Mordin added.

"You think you're happy for them? Just imagine what the family members are feeling." Mordin nodded in response.

"Indeed, they must be ecstatic." Mordin agreed. "Call me when we return to Tuchanka Sheppard, in the meantime I'm investigating how Scale Itch got on the Normandy again." Mordin said and Sheppard sighed.

"You do that, I'm going to pay a visit to Tali." Sheppard said leaving the room and heading into the elevator, he went down to the Engineering deck and into the Engineering room. "Tali, have you got time to talk?"

"Of course Sheppard, I've just finished calibrating the T-6 Arrays anyway." Tali said turning around.

"First of all was what I heard about Grunt's karaoke duet with Mordin true?" Tali, Donnelly and Daniels laughed.

"Was it ever Commander, surprisingly Mordin had the whole bar singing along, even Drakus." Donnelly said with a smile.

"Second, the Geth are willing to negotiate with the Quarians in the face of the Reaper threat." Tali gasped.

"Sheppard, this is huge, we could possibly have our home planet back." Tali said clearly ecstatic.

"We'll need to talk to the Admiralty board, are the Migrant Fleet still where they where during you're trial." Tali nodded. "We'll go to there as soon as we've got our business sorted out on the Krylkock's homeplanet." Tali nodded.

"I understand Sheppard, I'll message them about this right away." Tali said and Sheppard left.


	23. Reunion

"Commander, we've just entered the Mass Relay that'll take us to Ilium." Joker's voice announced.

"Thanks Joker." Shepard said approaching the bridge, Teridus' clearing of Robert McKansa and General Williams' names had ramifications all over Alliance space, some higher ups where protesting the decision but that was put to an end when said higher ups got a look at the evidence supplied by Teridus to the Alliance. "When we land on Ilium tell Tali and Ashley to meet me at the hanger."

"Understood Commander, we should be on Ilium in twenty minutes." Joker said and twenty minutes later they were on Ilium.

"Okay ladies, this is going to be the last pickup before the Reaper mission and due to the fact that Liara is having her problems with the Shadow Broker I chose to recruit her last." Sheppard explained to Tali and Ashley.

"Let's just hope we don't bump into Dara again, I doubt she'll be too happy to see you again after screwing up her La Sombre investigation." Tali added.

"Oh come on! How bad could it....."

"In related news a bounty has been placed upon the head of the SPECTER agent Commander Jason Shepard to be brought in alive." The news report said.

""Well, I guess I jinxed us there." Ashley said with a nervous grin.

"Here's the plan, we recruit Liara and get out of here without any trouble." Shepard said.

"Don't know why but something tells me that's going to be easier said than done." Ashley chimed in.

"Noted, okay Liara's office is just up these stairs here." Shepard said as they reached the top of the stairs, unsurprisingly Liara had hired a new receptionist, an Elcor.

"Friendly greeting, hello there human what can I do for you?" The Elcor greeted.

"I'm here to see Liara." Shepard said.

"Patiently, Liara is in a meeting right now and cannot be disturbed." The Elcor answered.

"We're old friends of hers, from the original SSV Normandy." Ashley explained.

"Understanding, I'll let her know immediately." The Elcor said opening the comm. Radio. "Liara, some old friends are here to see you."

"I thought I told you Xralton that I didn't want to see anyone today!" Liara said.

"Patiently, I think you'd want to see these visitors." The Elcor, now known as Xralton, responded.

"Oh, and who are they?" Liara asked.

"They claim that they are friends from the original SSV Normandy." Xralton said.

"Send them in, now." Liara said almost immediately.

"Annoyed, but you said....."

"Do you want to second guess someone who can flay you alive with her mind?" Liara interrupted.

"Timidly, I will send them in now." Xralton said before turning to Sheppard. "My apologies sir, you can see her now."

"Did Liara just threaten to flay her receptionist alive?" Ashley asked me with shock in her voice.

"It's a line she's been using ever since she became the Asari's answer to the Shadow Broker, not sure if she's actually done that though." Shepard answered.

"Just in case, remind me not to piss her off." Ashley replied.

"You got it." Shepard said and the three of them entered Liara's office and too there surprise they saw another familiar face.

"Oh, hello again Commander Sheppard." Sha'ira, better known as the Asari consort, greeted the three surprised soldiers.

"I heard you where leaving the Citadel but I didn't think you'd come this far out Sha'ira." Sheppard said.

"That is a misunderstanding; I am staying on Ilium until my chambers are repaired." Sha'ira said.

"Okay but that doesn't explain why you're seeing Liara." Shepard said as Liara came out of a separate room.

"I was seeking advice about my upcoming recruitment Shepard." Liara said. "That and Sha'ira will be looking after my offices whilst we're busy with The Reapers." Liara added.

"When I last left you had just eliminated The Observer and you were looking through her data, any progress with that?" Shepard asked.

"Plenty, though I am no closer to the Shadow Broker's identity." Liara said. "And before you ask I have no leads here on Ilium, after the Observer's death the rest of the Shadow Broker's agents fled to other worlds." Liara added.

"I guess we'll be going then, Sha'ira keep us notified of anything going on here whilst we're gone, even if Xralton takes a sick leave." Shepard said and Sha'ira nodded.

"Let's go." Ashley said walking out.

"Before we get to the Normandy there are two things you must know about, number 1: there's a Geth that capable of speech on board and number 2: there's a Batarian on board." Shepard said and Liara looked at him funny.

"I'll accept your judgement She....." Shepard quickly covered her mouth.

"Sorry Liara, there's a bounty out on my head here and I feel like getting to the Normandy in one piece." Shepard said.

"I understand Commander." Liara said and they returned to the Normandy.

"Joker, get us out of here and go to the location of the Krylkock home world." Shepard said.

"Great, one wasn't enough but now we are going to they're home planet!" Joker said as he started putting in the commands for takeoff.

"If it helps keep reminding yourself that they're mostly extinct." Shepard answered.

"Isn't the proper term for that endangered?" Jenny asked walking up.

"Or that." Shepard said. "Liara, this is Jenny McKansa, she's one of the newest members of the crew, Jenny would you mind showing Liara around the ship? I have to report to the Citadel Council."

"Sure." Jenny shrugged motioning for Liara to follow her.

"How have you found working with Commander Sheppard so far Jenny?" Liara asked.

"I can't complain, sure he's strict as all hell but I've learned to live with that." Jenny shrugged. "Anyway down here is the Armoury and on the opposite side of the deck is the Tech Lab where you'll find our resident geek Mordin Solus."

"You don't seem to get along with him." Jenny shook her head.

"Nah, I just find him hard to keep a conversation with, you'll see what I mean when you meet him." Jenny replied. "Anyway its lunchtime so everyone else isn't at their stations so if you want to chat with them try the mess hall." Jenny added.

"Then why aren't you with them?" Liara asked.

"I finished my lunch just as you guys arrived." Jenny explained as they went into the elevator. "Next floor down is the Crew Quarter's where me and my brother Zach spend most of our free time." Jenny said pressing the button for the second deck; they arrived at the second deck just as lunchtime ended.

"Well, so much for chatting with the crew over lunch." Liara said.

"Ah well, can't win them all, here is where you'll find the Mess Hall, Medbay , the area where Thane Krios spends most of his time and your old buddy Garrus Vakerian."

"Someone say my name?" Garrus asked making Jenny jump. "Oh, Liara I take it Jenny's giving you a guided tour of the ship."

"Yeah, and that's when she's not having a heart attack due to a certain Turian sneaking up on her." Jenny said annoyed.

"Sorry about that." Garrus apologized.

"By the goddess, what happened to your face?" Liara asked when she saw Garrus' scars.

"Long story short, the mercenaries on Omega got jealous of my good looks and gave me a makeover with a Gunship." Garrus said.

"Well, nice to see you've developed a sense of humour, where too next Jenny?" Liara asked.

"Medbay, there's another old friend of yours there." Jenny said as Garrus said goodbye to the two women and Jenny lead her to the medbay.

"Jenny, I swear you're the most accident prone soldier I've ever worked....." Dr. Chakwas said turning around as she saw Jenny's reflection but stopped when she saw Liara. "Oh Liara, it's nice to see another familiar face." Chakwas said with a smile. "How are your burns holding up Jenny?"

"They're healing, though seeing Grunt and Mordin sing a Karaoke duet of YMCA didn't help." Chakwas laughed.

"Ah yes, that was very funny indeed, though I'm not sure if Mordin realised what he was singing about at the time." Chakwas said.

"Well if he wasn't Zach was quick to let him know, the look on his face was priceless." Jenny remembered. "Anyway I'm just giving Liara a tour of the ship, Legion still in the AI Core?" Chakwas nodded and Jenny led Liara into the AI core.

"McKansa Jenny, this unit was not expecting your company, if this was one of those extranet videos...." Legion started but Jenny cut him off.

"Please, for the love of everything that's holy, do not bring up that mental image, I'm already traumatized enough from when Bailey mentioned Hanar/Elcor porn." Liara looked at Jenny strangely. "It's a long story, anyway Liara this is Legion, the only Geth I know off that's capable of speech." Jenny introduced a shocked Liara.

"Err; it is good to meet you Legion." Liara eventually said.

"Acknowledged." Legion said in reply,

"Jenny, can we go to the next deck? I'm not comfortable being around a Geth." Liara asked Jenny.

"Sure, the third deck's the smallest anyway." Jenny led her out of the AI Core and the medbay and headed towards the elevator once Jenny gave a brief tour of where the rest of the rooms where, the two women entered the elevator and Jenny pressed the button for the third deck.

"This is the Engineering deck where Tali spends most of her time alongside Grunt and Drakus, the resident Krogan members of the crew, Jack a psychotic biotic who believe it or not is a woman, Zeead who's basically the last guy you want to piss off and here is the cargo deck which I can't access." Jenny said and then all colour drained from her face.

"Jenny is something wrong?" Jenny ignored Liara and put a hand to her earpiece.

"Shepard, it's Jenny, we've got a problem in the Cargo Deck." Jenny said.

"Specify what you mean by problem." Shepard said.

"I mean that there's a fucking Krylkock down there!" Jenny replied catching the attention of Drakus who was walking by.

"WHAT?!" Shepard yelled. "I'll be down there ASAP but if this is a joke you'll be cleaning the male toilets after Grunt has used them!"

"Shepard, I wouldn't joke about that!" Jenny quickly pointed out.

"Good point, meet me at the elevator ASAP!" Shepard said and she turned to Drakus.

"Just to make sure I'm not crazy....." Jenny started.

"I see it as well McKansa, I'll let everyone else on this deck know." Drakus said marching off.

"He seems pleasant." Liara said.

"Only when he's not on a mission, come on!" Jenny said and soon afterward everyone was pointing they're guns at the Krylkock in the Cargo bay however Shepard was quick to notice two different things about this Krylkock, the fact that he wasn't indoctrinated and the fact that he was significantly shorter than the one they encountered on the abandoned ship.

"Halt, tell us what you want!" Shepard demanded.

"Relax, I come in peace." The Krylkock said with a deep voice that surprised everyone present.


	24. Strange new friend

"Okay, a talking Geth I can handle but being on the same ship as an alien who shares the same race as the thing who ripped that woman in half?" Jenny whispered to Shepard.

"I'm just as sceptical as you Jenny." Shepard whispered.

"There's no need to be sceptical." The Krylkock said having teleported behind them making them jump.

"Err, yeah considering our last meeting with a member of your race ended with a woman being ripped in half and a massive dent being caused in the Normandy's roof I'd say we have plenty of reasons to be sceptical." Zach said.

"As rare as it is that I find myself agreeing with my brother I agree with Zach." Jenny said.

"Please, I mean only to assist Commander Shepard." The Krylkock said.

"Shepard, I sense the truth in what this being says." Samara said holstering her gun though keeping her biotics charged just to be sure, after a few uneasy moments the rest of the crew holstered they're weapons.

"How did you survive this long?" Shepard asked.

"The Reapers kept me alive." The Krylkock said earning uneasy looks from Shepard's crew. "I suppose I can't blame you for being suspicious but when you killed the Krylkock in the Far Rim Cluster I broke free of my mental bonds."

"How did you manage that?" Shepard asked.

"The Krylkock share a mental link with one another, this allows for easy communication in battle and it allows us to know immediately when someone in our unit has died, when that happened we feel a minor shock got through our heads and that's how I broke free." The Krylkock explained.

"_Sounds kind of like the Geth's neural link." _Shepard thought.

"Okay so if you were able to break free of the indoctrination that doesn't explain how you where able to find us, your buddy was only able to find us because we were on the same ship!" Zeead said.

"I've been following you since you left Ilium." The Krylkock explained.

"Oh yeah, that helps us not be suspicious of this guy!" Zach said.

"You have a name?" The Krylkock told them a name that no one could pronounce. "You have one easier to pronounce?

"Then you may know me as Sdres." The Krylkock said simply.

"Okay Sdres, look no offence but for now I want you to stay down here." Shepard said and Sdres nodded.

"I understand, I'll be down here if you need me." Shepard looked towards his crew and nodded towards the elevator and they went up in the elevator.

"Shepard, are you sure we can trust Sdres?" Jenny asked when they were in the Crew's Quarters.

"I don't know, he seems pretty trustworthy but in the meantime we'll have to see what he does." Shepard said. "EDI, keep an eye on our guest in the Hanger, if he even gives the slightest hint of indoctrination space him,"

"Understood Shepard." EDI said and Jenny folded her arms looking at Shepard confused.

"Does Sdres even have a gender?" She asked.

"Okay I don't even know if the Krylkock have genders but for now I'm referring to Sdres as a he due to his deep voice." Shepard admitted.

"Never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth Commander but whatever works for you." Jenny shrugged.

"Anyway, how are you feeling about your grandfather's name being cleared?" Shepard asked and Jenny grinned.

"Did you even need to ask in the first place?" Jenny asked.

"Fair point, you're obviously happy about it." Shepard said.

"Gee you think? After all the bullshit I endured whilst in N7....." Jenny trailed off remembering she hadn't told that story yet.

"I'm guessing that the moment your instructor learned that your last name was no coincidence you weren't exactly his favourite student?" Shepard asked and she sighed.

"Understatement of the fucking century, when the instructor found out he singled me out one morning and let the rest of the crew know who I was and, most importantly that my grandfather was a traitor, the only thing that kept me from quitting was the knowledge that if I quit the Alliance I'd be in a woman's prison on Earth." Jenny replied. "The other candidates made my life a living hell after that, only stopping at gang raping me because the instructor made it clear that it wouldn't be tolerated, even if it happened to me."

"His words I take it?" Shepard asked.

"Pretty much, he seemed determined to fail me as well if it wasn't for the fact that my Biotics tutors personally told him that I was advancing at a much faster rate than expected and before long the instructor had no choice but to graduate me at the top of my class." Jenny said with a smirk. "Boy, am I glad I had my onmi-tool record the look on his face when I graduated." Jenny said showing the recording to Shepard who laughed as it was clear that the instructor hated every moment of Jenny's awards ceremony.

"Does the instructor know you recorded him?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, but that wasn't until I e-mailed him about it from Mindoir." Jenny shrugged. "Unfortunately he was quick to let Marcus know and before I knew it I was cleaning the bathrooms with a toothbrush for the rest of the week, would've been a harsher punishment if I hadn't shown him the recording and he realised just who my instructor was."

"Just keep in mind that you can't change what happened in the past but you should use it to better yourself." Shepard said and Jenny smirked.

"Shepard, to it bluntly I was doing that long before we had this conversation." Jenny said and Shepard left the crew's quarters.

"Commander, we've just entered the Mass Relay that will lead us to the Krylkock's home world, speaking of which thanks for allowing a Super-Strong, teleporting alien who may turn hostile in the blink of an eye to stay on the Normandy." Joker said obviously nervous.

"Good, tell Grunt and Drakus to meet me at the hanger, I'll let the Krylkock in the hanger join us since he'll most likely have intimate knowledge of the homeworld given the fact that it's been undisturbed since the majority of its race was killed."

"Great, thanks." Joker said obviously relieved to hear that and moments later the four of them where in the Shuttle on their way down to the planet.

"You remember much about the homeplanet Sdres?" Drakus asked.

"The Krylkock have excellent memory, not in the same league as the Drell's perfect memory but still." Sdres noticed the odd looks. "Sorry I forgot to mention, certain members of the Krylkock, such as myself, can read minds, that's how I found out about it."

"No offence but that probably won't help you're working relationship with the other crew members." Sdres nodded.

"If it offers any comfort I only read the minds of those whose species I wish to know more about and, if the situation calls for it, to see what an enemy is planning." Sdres explained. "So far I've learned about Humanity, the Drell and the Krogan, the latter being the most recent." Grunt and Drakus were quick to catch on that he had just read they're minds.

"Next time, ASK before you read our minds." Drakus said clearly annoyed.

"I apologize." Sdres replied.

"Or better yet ask us about our species." Shepard said clearly not comfortable with this.

"That's......difficult given how little your crew trusts me." Sdres admitted. "That and due to the size of your ship I can only fit in the hanger."

"As much as I hate to admit it, he has a point." Drakus said.

"Krylkock do not posses genders, we produce asexually." Sdres said. "All though you can refer to me as a male if you wish too."

"That works for me!" Grunt exclaimed.

"What he said." Drakus and Shepard said simultaneously as the shuttle landed on the planet, when Shepard got off he quickly felt the high gravity of the world as did Drakus and Grunt when they got off, Sdres just approached it casually.

"Anderson wasn't kidding about the Gravity." Shepard muttered.

"Looks like the STG chose to leave after that member's little trip." Drakus said looking around as he had quickly adjusted to the gravity as had Grunt. Sdres looked around concerned. "Is there something wrong?" Drakus asked.

"You may get your first encounter my planets non-sapient life forms soon." Sdres said teleporting to higher ground. "Shepard, do you copy?"

"I do Sdres, what do you see up there?" Shepard asked guessing that he had learnt his surname from reading his mind.

"Trouble and I do mean big trouble." Sdres said teleporting besides Shepard. "An Yngrak is coming this way."

"A what?" Drakus said but he soon knew what he meant, a massive, winged creature landed next to the four of them, blood red in colour with matching piercing eyes.

"Let me guess, it's hostile?" Drakus asked.

"That and it's a carnivore, with a taste for living flesh." Grunt pumped his fists enthusiastically.

"This thing will have to fight for my flesh." Grunt said drawing his shotgun.

"That's unwise, all the life forms here have the same weakness as my species, the spot on the back of its neck, and the problem is the only way to get at it is too climb on top of it which is impossible." Sdres said.

"Watch me....." Grunt never got the chance as the monster took off like a jet.

"I thought you said it was a hostile creature." Drakus asked as he regained his composure.

"It is usually but if it doesn't attack it usually means it's a pregnant female." Sdres said.

"And that was a pregnant female?" Drakus asked and Sdres nodded. "Just for future reference how can we tell the difference between the genders?"

"The males usually stay high above; the females prefer to get up close and personal." Sdres explained.

"The males are a bunch of cowards." Grunt muttered.

"Believe it or not the Yngrak are the least dangerous species on this planet." Sdres looked towards the sky looking troubled. "There's a male circling above us, no sudden movements."

"Why?" Sheppard asked.

"The Yngrak have one other weakness, they're eyesight is severely limited, I believe the term that the humans use is blind." Sdres said. "Any sudden movements and it'll swoop down and grab you, and you won't have a chance to fight back."

"So what? We wait for this thing to pass?" Drakus asked.

"Yes." Sdres said simply. "Don't worry, if it can't detect any movement the male will flee, if I had to guess that thing was using the female as a scout."

"What happens to the scout if the male can't find any food?" Drakus asked.

"The scout gets eaten alive." Sdres said simply. "It is a vicious cycle."

"Does that happen even if the scout's pregnant?" Shepard asked disgusted.

"The pregnant females don't usually scout for food unless they are almost ready to give birth, the female will be forced into labour first, I don't know how I'm afraid." Sdres said as the Yngrak flew away.

"For some reason I'm glad for that!" Shepard said. "Come on, let's get moving before that thing returns, we're looking for proof that your species was indoctrinated by the Reapers."

"The capital city of our plane, Mcgolia, was the first to be hit by the Reapers, come on I'll show you the way." Sdres said leading them towards the city.


	25. Musings of the past

The trek across the Krylkock's homeworld had taken several hours including bits where they had to use the Firewalker to get across chasms; they hadn't encountered any other non sapient life forms since arriving on the planet.

"How much farther is it Sdres?" Drakus asked as they walked up a steep hill echoing what Shepard was about to say.

"Not much farther now." Sdres said turning his head briefly.

"Care to be a little more specific?" Grunt asked as they reached the top of the hill and found themselves facing a ruined city around the same size as the city of London.

"Does this answer your question Grunt?" Sdres said.

"Yes, actually it does." Grunt said.

"You see any more of those lifeforms around?" Drakus asked looking around the city.

"No, though if we do see them I'll be sure to let you know." Sdres said teleporting into the city, Shepard put a hand to his earpiece.

"Sdres, encase you've forgotten, we can't teleport." Shepard said agitated.

"My apologies but my species can't teleport more than one person, that person being the teleporter more often than not." Sdres said.

"I guess we're walking then." Drakus shrugged.

"Where abouts in the city are you?" Shepard asked.

"The centre of the city, I'll give you directions from where you are now." Sdres said and ten minutes later they were in the city alongside Sdres.

"What are you expecting for us to find here?" Shepard asked.

"The elders of the Krylkock, what you would call Government, constructed a large, underground bunker if the race ever faced extinction." Sdres explained and Shepard looked confused.

"Aren't the Krylkock a Warrior race? What need would they have for Government?" Shepard asked.

"It's simple really, to impose order and respect on the chaos off combat and war." Sdres said.

"Sounds like a slogan." Drakus observed.

"Because it is, that was what the Krylkock elders sworn to do when they joined the ranks, I'm not saying that they where weaklings more often than not the elders killed they're predecessors in order to take they're place." Sdres said.

"And they where okay with that?" Shepard asked.

"The only thing that gets you respect among my people Shepard is power and ruthlessness, which was the only semblance I had of my old self whilst I was indoctrinated." Sdres said.

"If you know that then....." Shepard started.

"I was an elder, the youngest to be given that honour; I was the one that gave the idea of the bunker to the other elders." Sdres said.

"If you don't mind me asked, how long do the Krylkock live for?" Drakus asked.

"We live just as long as the Krogan do." Sdres said simply. "However that is only when we have experienced combat, the more combat we experience the longer we live, those who chose not to fight typically live for 500 years."

"The longer you fight the longer you live, sounds like the Krogan and Krylkock were made for each other." Shepard joked.

"Indeed, which was what made the indoctrination process so difficult, the Reapers initially kept us in a stasis field similar to the Collector's sweeper swarms until they decided to use us but when they realised that they were killing potential agents in this manner they started using as assassins and shock troopers." Sdres said.

"Enough about this, where's the bunker?" Grunt asked impatiently, Sdres looked around and pointed to a large, heavy looking pile of rubble.

"Drakus, Grunt, help me move that rubble." Sdres said simply and the Krogan nodded, with they're combined strength the aliens where able to move the rubble quickly kicking up some dust as they did, when the rubble was cleared they saw a large doorway in the ground which Sdres opened with ease.

"The bunker is down there I take it?" Shepard asked and Sdres nodded. "Lead the way." Shepard said and Sdres complied, they walked down the many steps before eventually finding a large chamber filled with skeletons of Krylkock and artefacts.

"I would've thought you'd include food supplies for your people." Drakus observed his eyes looking over the artefacts. "Some of these artefacts look valuable as well."

"The Krylkock can go for years without food due to our unique digestive system." Sdres said casually approaching the artefacts when his eyes darted on the last one. "This is odd."

"Is there something wrong?" Shepard asked walking up; Sdres motioned to the other artefacts.

"The other artefacts are of Krylkock design, simple and elegant, this on the other hand doesn't belong here at all, in fact I recognise the design, and it's a Reaper indoctrination device." Sdres realised with horror in his voice.

"How did that get down here?" Drakus asked.

"One of the other elders must've been indoctrinated." Sdres said his eyes darting to another artefact. "There, that's a recording device typically used to record meetings of the council maybe that will give us some answers." Sdres activated it and another Krylkock, the same one from the ship, appeared speaking the Krylkock's native language, whatever it said it appeared to trouble Sdres deeply.

"What did that thing say?" Grunt asked.

"That was Wrund, the eldest elder and the most respected, he spoke about The Reapers as if they where gods and other such nonsense." Sdres said shaking his head. "How did I miss it?"

"We all make mistakes, especially those in a position of power." Shepard reassured him. "Can we take the device? It's the proof we need that the Reapers where indoctrinating your species."

"Of course, thing is you'll need me to translate it into English and I doubt that the council will be too pleased to see me." Sdres said.

"We'll see what happens." Shepard said as Sdres took the device. "Normandy, we're ready for pickup."

"Aye, aye Commander, the shuttle will be there in a few minutes." Joker replied as the four soldiers emerged from the bunker and minutes later they were on the Normandy.

"Joker, take us back to the Citadel ASAP." Shepard said approaching the bridge.

"Aye, aye Commander, ETA is 1 day." Joker said piloting the ship towards the Mass Relay, Shepard left the bridge and was planning on spending the rest of the day in his quarters when.....

"Tidoses wants a word with you Commander." Kelly said briefly looking up.

"Thanks, any messages?" Shepard asked.

"No." Came her simple reply.

"Is there anything else?" Shepard asked.

"Zach's in the med bay because he thought it would be a good idea to challenge Dsrondo to an Arm Wrestling contest." Kelly said with amusement in her voice, Shepard had to admit he found that amusing as well. "Mordin hasn't come out of the lab since shore leave due to embarrassment on his part and Lantar wants a word."

"Thanks Kelly." Shepard said walking towards the armoury, he entered it and saw Jacob, Marcus and Ashley working on upgrades for some guns. "You guys seen Sidonis?"

"He's working on Garrus' sniper rifle at the other end of the room." Jacob said.

"Thanks Jacob." Shepard said and Jacob acknowledged it with a quick salute, Shepard walked towards the Turian. "Kelly said you wanted to talk?"

"Irony is funny sometimes, isn't it Commander? One minute I'm being threatened by this very rifle the next I'm working on it." Sidonis observed. "But yes, Kelly is correct." Sidonis said putting the rifle down on the desk.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"As I'm sure you remember I went to Fade seeking an escape from Omega and Garrus, with my new life in front of me I want to leave my old one behind and that involves Fade's death." Shepard's eyes narrowed in surprise.

"Fade's been in C-Sec custody for the past five months; he's currently serving a life sentence for fraud and trafficking." Shepard said.

"True but he's being released on a technicality, I want to stop him before he makes anyone else disappear." Sidonis said.

"We're heading to the Citadel anyway so we'll take care of it." Shepard said.

"Thank you Commander." Sidonis said as Shepard walked away and left the armoury, he entered the elevator and went down to the crew's quarters, when he reached the second deck he saw a satisfied looking Dsrondo waiting for him.

"Commander, I understand the mission on the Krylkock homeworld was interesting to say the least." Dsrondo said.

"Could say that, what's this I hear about an arm wrestling contest between you and Zach?" Dsrondo laughed.

"I like the kid but he made the mistake of underestimating my strength, luckily for him I went easy on him otherwise he'd be fighting with one arm." Dsrondo chuckled. "His sister was apparently the brains of the siblings."

"What makes you say that?" Shepard asked.

"She bet 500 credits on me!" Dsrondo said. "Anyway I'm heading down to engineering, are you coming with me?"

"No, I've got to talk to Tidoses and then I'm heading to my quarters." Shepard said stepping out of the elevator and Dsrondo got in the elevator, he made his way to the forward batteries and entered the room to find Garrus alone. "Garrus, have you seen Tidoses?" Shepard asked.

"She told me that she was going to talk to Drakus about something, if you want I'll let her know that you want to talk to her." Garrus said looking up briefly.

"No need for that Garrus." Tidoses said making Shepard jump. "Sorry for the wait Commander I had to talk to Drakus about him becoming a SPECTER." Garrus' mandibles flared in surprise.

"Drakus is being considered for the SPECTERS? What next will the Batarians be invited back to the Citadel?" Garrus asked getting a chuckle from Tidoses.

"Actually he and Williams are in the final stages of becoming Council SPECTERS, but that doesn't matter, I need to speak with Shepard, in private." Tidoses said leading Shepard away from the Forward Batteries and to the area that Kasumi occupied during her time aboard the ship.

"Okay Tidoses, we both know we're heading to Palaven to help your father but now what?" Shepard asked.

"The Turians want to assist you in the battle against The Reapers; problem is they need your help with something." Tidoses said.

"And that is?" Shepard asked.

"They want the matter with my father dealt with as soon as possible given his high ranking." Tidoses said and Shepard nodded.

"_At least that will tie into her loyalty mission."_ Shepard thought as Tidoses walked away, Shepard almost followed her out when a familiar sound came from behind him.

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Kasumi said folding her arms.

"Normally I'd ask how you got on the ship but considering who I'm talking too I shouldn't be surprised." Shepard said.

"I got on during your second trip to Ilium, figured the crew could use the skills of a master thief again." Kasumi smiled.

"You do know this mission is far more dangerous than the Collector mission, right?" Shepard asked.

"I live for danger." She shrugged. "And I'll try not to die for danger either."

"All right, you can stay, just try to stay out of the other crew's way until the meeting I'll have after my next meeting with the Council." Shepard said.

"At which point I'll make my grand return, I wonder if Jacob's still available." Kasumi muttered and Shepard shrugged.

"You'd have to ask him yourself." Shepard answered.

"And I will, at some point." Kasumi shrugged.

"No confrontations with Legion either, I know you two have a rivalry going on but try to set it aside." Shepard said and Kasumi reluctantly nodded. "Now I can finally go up to the Captain's Quarters."

"Commander, Drakus and Grunt are having a REALLY destructive sparring match in the cargo hold, can you take care of it?" Joker asked and Shepard groaned.

"I'm on it." Shepard muttered leaving room.


	26. No rest for the heroic

Shepard sighed as he left the medbay, his attempts at stopping a sparring match between a Krogan Battlemaster and a Tankborn Krogan hadn't exactly been good to his health though (with help from Sdres) the situation was now dissolved and Shepard was finally ready to return to his Captain's Quarters and call it a night when.....

"Shepard, the council wants a word with you." Joker's voice rang out.

"Patch them through to the Conference Room." Shepard said entering the large room, soon the four councillors appeared.

"Commander, we have just finished analyzing that ship's logs from the SSV Dorodia, they reveal some....troubling information." The Asari councillor said.

"I didn't think you'd be able to get much out of the logs given the fact that the crew was indoctrinated." Shepard said.

"That was what we thought at first Commander but as it turns out we did find something." Anderson said.

"What did you find?" Shepard asked.

"In between the insane ramblings we discovered that the ship's crew where being indoctrinated before they reached the Far Rim cluster." The Salarian councillor stated.

"How far back are we talking?" Shepard asked.

"Five weeks ago, around the same time you recruited Drakus, the ship's logs reported that they had found a strange device on an uncharted world in the Hawking ETA cluster, after that the ship's logs turn to insane ramblings." The Turian councillor stated.

"That's not all, when the recovery team recovered the remains of the ship they found something quite disturbing in the cargo hold, the one place not affected by the Krylkock's presence, they found six Dragon's Teeth with fresh Husks at the top, luckily they were able to destroy the teeth before they could bring the Husks to life, but the records showed that there was ten Dragon's Teeth on board originally and that the records also showed that they had been dropped off on Earth." Anderson said and Shepard's eyes widened.

"Where abouts on Earth did they drop them off?" Shepard asked.

"A small spaceport in New York City, ever since then there has been an alarming increase in Husk activity on the planet." Anderson said bitterly.

"We're on our way to the Citadel now with the information regarding the Krylkock's indoctrination, after that and some business on Palaven I'll take a team to New York and deal with the problem." Shepard said.

"Why don't you just forward the information to us and save yourself the trouble Shepard?" Anderson asked.

"It's in the Krylkock's native language and I'm bringing along a translator and on top of that it's only accusable through a recording device that the Krylkock created." Shepard explained simply. "We'll be at the Citadel in a day or so anyway."

"We'll see you then." Anderson said as they cut off.

"Joker, once we're done on Palaven plot a course for Earth." Shepard ordered.

"Got it Commander though I'm guessing that we're still going to the Citadel first?" Joker asked.

"That's right." Shepard said.

"That's good, because we've just entered the Mass Relay that leads to the Serpent Nebula." Joker said.

"Thought you said that we'd be on the Citadel after one day?" Shepard asked.

"Well ETA does stand for Estimated Time of Arrival so yeah it wasn't exactly accurate, besides by my clock it was close to a day." Joker said.

"Fine, have Sdres meet me outside the Citadel Tower." Shepard said walking out of the conference room and entering the elevator, knowing that there was no time for him to rest now he settled for getting the meeting over and done with and resting on the way to Palaven when realisation hit him. "Joker, do you have the coordinates for Palaven?"

"You mean the Turian's home planet? Err; yeah Tidoses just forwarded them to me!" Joker replied.

"_At least someone realised that Joker didn't have the coordinates."_ Shepard thought as he pressed the button for the CIC, an hour later Shepard was outside the Citadel Tower and was waiting for Sdres to show up.

"Sorry for the wait Shepard." Sdres said teleporting alongside him. "So this is the famous Citadel Tower? I must say this is quite impressive." Sdres admitted.

"You teleport ahead, I'll take the elevator and meet you inside." Shepard said and Sdres nodded before disappearing, he entered the elevator and 30 minutes later he was in the tower, he walked up the steps with Sdres and the council greeted Shepard.

"We weren't expecting you so soon Shepard." The Asari councillor commented.

"Turns out I underestimated how quickly a day can go by." Shepard admitted.

"Anyway I believe you have information for us and a translator." Anderson said and Shepard nodded.

"Yes I do, Sdres?" The Krylkock stepped forward to shocked murmurs from the crowd, Anderson and the other councillor's eyes widened,

"Is that a Krylkock? I thought that they where extinct?" The Turian councillor said.

"We are mostly extinct." Sdres said activating a primitive looking Onmi-Tool. "I am Sdres of the Krylkock race, I am the last of my species not indoctrinated by the Reapers and I have the proof that the Krylkock are servants of the Reapers." Sdres said playing the video of Wrung and translating what he said, almost two hours later the video finished and the councillor's eyes narrowed.

"Did you know this Krylkock?" The Salarian councillor asked.

"He was Wrung, the eldest of the Krylkock elders which is the Krylkock's equivalent to the Citadel Council." Sdres explained.

"Sounds like a respectable position." The Turian councillor observed. "Yet he was indoctrinated like the rest of you."

"Sad but true." The Krylkock admitted. "But this also shows just how powerful the Reapers are."

"Indeed, we'll increase patrols around the Far Rim cluster just in case and if one of your indoctrinated friends shows up we'll be ready for him." The Asari councillor said.

"How can you be sure?" Shepard asked.

"The Destiny Ascension will lead the team." The Asari councillor said and Shepard had to admit that it made sense.

"Good idea, the Ascension has some serious firepower and they shouldn't have any problems with the Krylkock, the Reapers on the other hand...." Shepard trailed off.

"If the Reapers are encountered Commander we'll have the Ascension contact you immediately as the Normandy is best equipped to deal with them." The Asari councillor said.

"Good, I've got a favour to do for a crewmember before I leave the Citadel then I'll head to Palaven and then Earth to investigate the Husks attacks.

"Very well Shepard, we'll be in touch." The Salarian councillor and Shepard turned to leave, Sdres teleported away, presumably back to the Normandy, and once he was in the elevator Shepard put a hand to his earpiece. "Joker, have Sidonis meet me outside the C-Sec checkpoint near where the Normandy is docked."

"I've got it Commander." Joker said and Shepard went to the Rapid Transit taking him back to the Wards where Sidonis was waiting.

"So, you're here." Sidonis said, his mandibles indicating a grin. "Fade's trying to start his network up again but since all of his agents are in Witness Protection due to the fact that they testified against him at his trial he has to do the business himself." Sidonis explained.

"How do you know that?" Shepard asked.

"I believe the human expression is friend of a friend." Sidonis explained. "He's operating out of the warehouse his agents used before."

"You mean the one near the Dark Star Lounge?" Shepard asked and he nodded. "Come on, we'll get there quicker using the Rapid Transit." Shepard added as he walked towards the Rapid Transit with Shepard, a few minutes later they were in the Warehouse and were greeted by two Krogan bodyguards armed with Shotguns.

"What do you want?" The Krogan to the left asked.

"We're here to see Fade; we want to make someone disappear." Shepard said and the Krogan exchanged suspicious looks.

"Hold on." The other Krogan said putting a hand to an earpiece. "Fade, it's Kruchia, some guys want to disappear, a Turian and a human, both male." The Krogan waited a few minutes before nodding. "He'll be here in ten minutes."

"Make that ten seconds." Shepard said drawing his handgun. The Krogan laughed.

"You're not serious? You're outgunned and outmatched." The other Krogan pointed out.

"I eat thugs like you for breakfast." Shepard said. "Or don't you recognise the first human SPECTER." Shepard added and the Krogan's eyes widened.

"You're Commander Shepard? Hold on a second." The Krogan said putting a hand to his earpiece. "Fade, the human male is someone who requires you're immediate attention; I suggest you get down here now!" The Krogan said and Fade appeared almost immediately.

"What the hell is going on? I thought I told you that I was busy.....SHEPARD? What the hell do you want?" Harkin stammered but Sidonis drew his gun and fired putting a bullet hole in his head; Shepard proceeded to make quick work of the Krogan bodyguards.

"Thanks Commander, now with that last lose end tied up I can focus on enjoying the rest of my life, provided I live past the Reaper mission." Sidonis said.

"No problem, let's get back to the Normandy before someone finds the bodies." Shepard said and he and Sidonis left the warehouse and returned to the Normandy via the Rapid Transit. "Joker, plot a course for Palaven." Shepard ordered the pilot.

"Got it Commander, ETA is five days." Joker said taking off from the Citadel and heading towards the Mass Relay,

"_Good, maybe now I can finally relax....." _ Shepard thought until.

"Paul wants a word with you Commander." Kelly said almost as if she was reading his mind.

"Thanks Kelly, I'll get on it." Shepard sighed before going down to the crew's quarters, saying hi to the McKansa siblings as he passed them he found Paul speaking with Rupert in the mess hall. "Kelly said you wanted to speak to me Paul?"

"Sure, you mind if we talk somewhere private?" Paul asked.

"If you want I'll stick my fingers in my ears." Rupert joked.

"Whilst I appreciate the joke this is a serious matter Rupert." Paul said.

"Ignoring Rupert, come on we'll talk over here." Shepard lead him to a secluded spot. "So, what is it?"

"I want to put Gillian up for adoption, when I wanted to bring her aboard at first I realised that this ship doesn't exactly have that many good influences, not including you, Marcus and Tali."

"What's wrong with the McKansas, they have experience with Autistic children through they're sister?" Shepard asked.

"That's certainly true and whilst I like them Jenny makes no secret of her criminal past nor does Zach, that and the fact that they swear a combined 150 times a day." Paul said.

"That's a fair point, but why can't you raise her yourself though?" Shepard asked.

"I'm worried that I'll relapse and start using Red Sand again and I don't want her to see me like that, I have already contacted an Orphanage on Earth and they are willing to take her in and I have let Gillian know about it so it won't be to jarring for her." Shepard winced.

"That's going to be a problem, there's been a rapid increase in Husk attacks on Earth recently so that'll have to wait until after I sort that out." Shepard said and he nodded.

"The sooner you get that done the better, not just for my benefit but for the people of Earth's benefit." Shepard nodded in agreement before leaving the Crew's quarters and heading up to his quarters so he could finally relax.


	27. Palaven

"Commander, we've just entered the relay taking us to Palaven but we've got a bit of a problem." Joker's voice rang out over the PA and Shepard sighed, he was still in his Captain's Quarters after five days of well deserved rest, any issues that had arisen during the five day period where forwarded to him by Miranda.

"What do you mean by problem?" Shepard said shaking his head at some of the reports, including one where Zach hadn't come out of his room after having his manhood insulted by Drakus during a drinking game.

"As in a Turian patrol ship wants to know what brings a Human Civilian Ship to Turian Space and they want a word with the ship's Commanding Officer and not the helmsman." Shepard sighed, thankful that he had installed a comm. Link in his quarters.

"Patch them through." Shepard said walking over to the comm. Link. "This is Commander Jason Shepard of the SSV Normandy, who am I talking too?"

"This is Commander Dorodus Mckrensi of the Durestia, state your business." A Turian voice replied.

"Council business, I'm a Council SPECTER and I am here to make sure that one of my crewmembers is ready for combat when the Reapers arrive." Shepard said.

"Ah, we were told to expect you SPECTER Agent Shepard, I understand that you have SPECTER Agent Mirani with you as well?" Shepard nodded though he knew that the Turian Captain couldn't see him.

"That's right." Shepard said.

"We'll escort your ship to Palaven, the whole business with SPECTER Agent Mirani's father has Palaven on edge." The Turian Captain said.

"I understand captain; I'll let my helmsman know immediately, he tends to be a bit tempermental when it comes to someone treating him like a rookie." The captain laughed.

"I know exactly what you mean Shepard; my helmsman is exactly the same!" The Turian said.

"No kidding, does he tell bad jokes as well?" Shepard asked.

"How'd you guess?" The captain asked.

"I guess it was just a lucky guess." Shepard replied with a shrug before the Captain cut off. "Joker, the Turian patrol will escort us to Palaven, it's a safety precaution." Shepard said.

"Yeah I heard, doesn't mean I have to like it." Joker sulked. "I'm following the Turian patrol ship to Palaven now Commander."

"Good, when we land have Tidoses and Garrus meet me at the hanger." Shepard said.

"Got it Commander, we should be on Palaven in......that's odd." Joker suddenly said.

"What is it Joker?" Shepard asked not liking where this was going.

"Well according to the information Tidoses gave me her dad lives in the largest Continent on Palaven, only we're going nowhere near it." Shepard frowned.

"Are you sure about that Joker?" Shepard asked.

"Positive, we're breaking away from the Turian patrol now Commander." Joker said when suddenly this ship came to a screeching halt causing a jalt.

"Joker, what the hell was that?" Shepard demanded.

"The Turians are using some type of Tractor Beam to force us to follow them; EDI'S working on breaking away from it." Joker said.

"EDI, work on that double time." Shepard said turning to the AI.

"Understood Shepard." EDI replied.

"Nothing personal Commander but I have friends in high places who don't want you to make it to this meeting." The Turian's voice rang out.

"In other words, you where bribed." Shepard frowned.

"Don't insult me Commander, my Turian responsibility prevents me from accepting bribes.....what do you mean the Tractor Beam isn't working?" The Turian Commander yelled presumably at one of his technicians.

"We're free Commander but there's no telling how long before the Beam's operational again." Joker said.

"Don't give them a chance Joker, fire the Thanix Cannons." Shepard commanded.

"WHAT? Look Commander I respect you and all but won't we need these guys in the Reaper fight?" Joker protested.

"We won't need a ship captained by someone with questionable morals; I'll deal with any backlash from the Council." Shepard said.

"If you say so Commander, but if I drop the soap for this you'll pay." Joker said, after a few seconds of silence there was painful screams on the Turian's ship's side before an explosion and silence. "Ship's taken care of Commander; I hope you know what you're doing."

"Take the ship to Palaven's largest Continent." Shepard commanded. "Have everyone else be on guard whilst I'm away, who knows what Tidoses' father's friend might try next."

"Got it Commander." Joker said and twenty minutes later Tidoses and Garrus were with him on Palaven.

"Commander, I've seen you pull some crazy shit but blowing up a Turian patrol ship? I mean sure the Captain was clearly bribed but still." Garrus said as they walked towards Tidoses' father's home.

"Like I told Joker, I'll take care of any backlash from the Council as a result of this." Shepard said.

"Yeah, I doubt that the Council will be too thrilled about this." Tidoses added.

"Look for any evidence the proves that Dorodus was being bribed or anything that shows that he wasn't what he claimed to be whenever you get the chance." Shepard told the two Turians.

"Understood Commander, Tidoses how far is it from here to your father's home?" Garrus asked.

"Not too far now." Tidoses answered as they rounded a corner and came to a large house.

"Let me guess, we're here?" Garrus asked.

"Yeah, come on." Tidoses said motioning them to follow her, they went up to the gate and she went up to the intercom and pressed a button.

"Yeah?" A Krogan voice asked.

"It's Tidoses; I'm here to see Mirsali." Tidoses said.

"Ah yeah, I was told to expect you from your father, I'll buzz you through." The Krogan said and a buzzer sounded followed by the gate opening.

"There's not very many Krogans on Palaven." Garrus said.

"True but they make excellent bodyguards and security," Tidoses said leading the three of them to the house where greeted by two Krogan bodyguards.

"Welcome home Tidoses, I wasn't expecting more than one visitor though." The Krogan nearest the intercom said.

"Father wanted protection and he's got some of the best, apart from you two, this is Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakerian." Tidoses introduced.

"I'm Urdnot Wrach, Mirsali's chief of security, I've heard a lot about the two of you from my clan leader." The Krogan nearest the intercom said.

"And I'm Krostal Dranche, his bodyguard." The other Krogan introduced himself wearing the Purple colours of his clan.

"Sorry Shepard but as a precaution you must surrender your weapons, you two Tidoses and Garrus." Wrache continued.

"I'm afraid not, the last time someone tried to do something as a precautionary measure that person tried to kill me and my crew." Shepard said folding his arms.

"Then I can't let you in." Wrache said folding his arms.

"Look Wrache, as you know my father's been the target of several assassination attempts since the charges of treason where brought against him." Tidoses started.

"True, he's even offered a pay raise for me and Dranche if he lives to see the trial." Wrache commented.

"How high a pay raise are we talking?" Shepard asked.

"Double what we're already being paid and we're already being paid a lot." Dranche said.

"The only way you'll ever get the pay raise is if he survives and the best way to ensure that is too let us in with our weapons." Shepard said.

"How do we know you won't attempt to kill him?" Wrache asked.

"You really think his own daughter, SPECTER or not, will attempt to kill him?" Garrus asked.

"She never told you, did she?" Wrache asked.

"Told us what?" Shepard asked.

"My father was going to force me into an arranged marriage with one of his associates once I retired from combat, which was my main reason for accepting membership in the council SPECTERS." Tidoses said and Shepard frowned.

"I don't like having things kept from me Tidoses." Shepard said.

"I was going to tell you on the way to Palaven but the incident with Dorodus' ship delayed that." Tidoses said.

"There was still twenty minutes between then and landing on Palaven." Shepard said.

"I can answer that Commander, there was a fault with the Thanix cannons that occurred after they were fired at the Krylkock and the attack on the ship didn't help, we spent those twenty minutes trying to fix them, they're fixed now," Garrus said.

"Why wasn't Joker told?" Shepard asked.

"It was a minor fault, the Cannons had used up more energy than necessary, it was Tali that brought it to our attention, we didn't think much of it and didn't think that Joker would take it that seriously." Tidoses said.

"I take it you used the same logic for me?" Shepard asked and they nodded.

"Whatever, your still not coming....." Wrache was cut off by the sounds of gunfire from inside the house. "Damn it, come on Dranche." The two Krogan entered the house and Tidoses, Shepard and Garrus followed them in.

"You'd think with as many enemies as he has he'd hire more bodyguards." Garrus said.

"He has more bodyguards; I'm just his main one." Dranche said.

"Hey, who said you could come with us anyway?" Wrache demanded.

"I'm sure you're capable fighters but judging from the amount of gunshots you';; be outgunned and outmatched without our help." Shepard said.

"He has a point." Dranche admitted.

"Okay fine but any funny business and I'll gun you down myself." Wrache warned.

"Same goes for you two." Shepard warned.

"Got it, sounds like the gunshots where coming from his study, this way." Wrache said leading them to the room, they saw Tidoses' father unconscious on the floor with a fresh bullet wound to the stomach and a young looking Krogan bearing no clan markings standing over him. "Halt welt, we don't want to shoot you but if you force us to do so we will."

"My purpose is fulfilled." The Krogan said simply before pointing the shotgun at his head; however Shepard fired at the arm holding the shotgun disarming him before he could pull the trigger.

"Nice shot." Wrache complemented before picking up the shotgun. "It wouldn't have worked anyway, the shotgun was jammed, hasn't been cleaned in a while." Wrache observed.

"You know your stuff." Garrus complemented.

"Served in the Rebellions under Drakus, he taught me well." Wrache shrugged as Dranche secured the Krogan.

"Get the old bastard to the hospital ASAP; we'll make sure he doesn't get a chance to follow up the attack." Dranche said motioning to the Krogan.

"Got it." Shepard said picking up Mirsali's unconscious body, "Joker, send the shuttle to our coordinates now."

"You want us to pick you up Commander?" Joker's voice asked.

"No, we need it to take us to the nearest hospital." Shepard answered as they left the house.

"Got it Commander, shuttle will be there in three minutes." Joker said.

"Hurry up Joker." Tidoses said.

"Okay, okay!" Joker said and a few minutes later the shuttle arrived and they rushed onto it and saw Tali in the driver's seat,.

"I saw the hospital on the way over, it's not that far from here." Tali said as Garrus closed the door to the shuttle.

"Well hurry up," Shepard said as he applied medigel to the wound.

"Got it." Tali said activating the shuttle and driving off.


	28. Betrayel

Tidoses paced back and forth as she waited in the waiting room, they had just arrived at the hospital and had handed Mirsali over to the doctors and for now it was a matter of waiting.

"I'm sure he'll be fine Tidoses." Garrus reassured her.

"Yeah, never mind the fact that she suffered a shotgun wound." Jenny, who was riding shotgun in the shuttle, said earning a glare from Shepard.

"It's okay Shepard; Jenny is only speaking the truth." Tidoses said.

"If you say so, any idea what was up with the young Krogan?" Tidoses shook her head.

"I have friends in the local police force; they told me that they are still looking to see if the Krogan is a known offender." Tidoses said.

"If that Krogan was young then why wasn't he on Tuchanka? From what I've learned from Drakus young Krogans don't leave Tuchanka until after they're right of passage." Jenny pointed out.

"Good question." Tali said folding her arms. "On the subject of Krogan though I don't trust those Krogan that Mirsali employed."

"What makes you say that?" Garrus asked.

"They openly admitted that they are only loyal to their next paycheck, for all we know they let that Krogan in!" Tali said.

"They didn't hesitate to act when they heard the gunshot." Shepard pointed out.

"I agree with Tali, they could've been covering up for themselves to avoid pissing off a SPECTER." Jenny said.

"Not the way I would've put it but yeah, what she said." Tali said.

"Both are fair points come to think of it." Garrus agreed but Tidoses shook her head.

"They have been loyal to my father for years, if they where that easily persuaded he would've been dead years ago." Tidoses said when a Salarian doctor walked in.

"It was a bit touch and go at first but your father's going to make it." The Salarian doctor said and Tidoses smiled.

"Thank you doctor, when can I see him?" Tidoses asked.

"We don't want anyone seeing him just yet but I'll let you know when you can see him, and don't worry, as per the Turian government's request we've given him a private room with armed guards encase some of his friends tries anything." The doctor said.

"I appreciate that doctor; I assume that you'll let me know when I can see him?" Tidoses asked.

"Of course I will." The doctor said walking off.

"I'll take a team back to Mirsali's mansion to check for evidence of wrong doing by him and his associates, keep us posted." Shepard ordered.

"Of course Commander, I'll be in touch." Tidoses said.

"Tali, Jenny, Garrus, come with me, Joker, send Legion down to meet us at the mansion and tell him to use his holographic projector." Shepard said the last part into his earpiece as they left the hospital.

"You got it Commander, he should be there shortly." Joker said.

"Are you sure that's wise Commander? What if the device malfunctions? A Geth on Palaven might result in a panic." Garrus pointed out.

"He'll be fine." Shepard reassured him.

"Well, if you say so Commander." Garrus shrugged. They got back in the shuttle and returned to the mansion and where greeted by Dranche and Wrache at the gate.

"Tidoses called ahead to let us know of your arrival, that talking Geth is already inside, never thought I'd say that." Dranche said with a chuckle. "Who are the Quarian and the Human?"

"Tali'Zorah vas Neemaand Jenny McKansa respectively, they're helping with the investigation." Shepard said motioning to the women as he introduced them. "How's the Krogan holding up?" Dranche frowned.

"He's on suicide watch over at the Police Station and before you ask I don't recognise him from my clan." Dranche said.

"Neither do I." Wrache said.

"Maybe he's a member of a clan that dissolved." Jenny suggested.

"Possibly, though we haven't been able to keep up with Tuchanka's politics since we took the job here." Dranche admitted. "For an outsider you know a lot about the Krogan."

"Because we share the ship with two Krogan, Drakus and Grunt, and I worked with Wrex in the past." Shepard said as the Krogan lead them in.

"You don't say, tell the old bastard that Wrache says hello when you get back on the Normandy." Wrache said as they approached the door to the study. "Hey, Legion some friends are here to see ya."

"Acknowledged, send them in." Legion answered and the four of them entered and saw Legion looking through the files on the computer. "Shepard Commander." Legion greeted.

"What have you found so far Legion?" Shepard asked.

"This unit has found that this computer has multiple profiles, the first one belongs to Marini Mirsali, the others belong to several well known diplomats and on those profiles this unit found that they had each made payments ranging in the millions to a Krogan known simply as Eridius."

"That must've been the welt that attacked him." Dranche said.

"Are there any other payments Legion?" Wrache asked.

"One was made yesterday to a civilian captain by the name of Dorodus Mckrensi to pose as a member of the Turian fleet in anticipation of your arrival." Legion said before continuing. "From there he was to lead them to an uncharted island abd execute each member of the Normandy's crew."

"You found that out via the financial records?" Shepard asked and Legion shook his head.

"No, there was a word document attached with those instructions, including a set for Eridus." Legion said.

"Somehow I doubt he'd have an easy time executing Grunt if that did work." Tali commented.

"Print the financial records and the instructions off, maybe we can use this to get Eridus to give up his employers, that and I won't have to worry about backlash from the council once it's proved that the ship wasn't a part of the Turian fleet" Shepard said.

"Acknowledged, printing them off now." Legion said, the records and the instructions printed off and Jenny retrieved them handing the instructions and financial records to Shepard.

"With these we may be able to bring Mirsali's Turian associates in for attempted murder." Shepard said.

"Not going to happen." Shepard turned around and saw Wrache and Dranche pointing they're shotguns at the team. "Nothing personal commander but we were offered triple our normal pay to let Eridus in, we only rushed in here as a cover." Wrache said.

"Don't say me and Tali didn't tell you so." Jenny said firing a shockwave at the two Krogans sending them flying, Shepard walked over to Wrache kicking the gun away.

"Tell me who employed you, Dranche and Eridus to attempt to assassinate Mirsali." Shepard warned.

"You think I'm stupid? They'll kill us if we reveal their names." Dranche said and Shepard turned to Jenny.

"Jenny, you know what to do." Jenny grinned and got her shotgun out, Wrache snorted.

"What can a puny human like her, biotic or not, do to me with a shotgun?" Wrache said but that was before she aimed it at his crotch.

"Not this again." Garrus cringed looking away.

"I know Krogans have four balls, this shotgun has four rounds per clip, and I have enough clips for you and Dranche." Jenny said and Wrache looked impressed.

"Nice interrogation technique, but encase you've forgotten Krogan can regenerate lost limbs." Wrache said.

"I honestly never thought I'd say this in any given situation but balls don't count as limbs." Jenny said pumping her shotgun.

"Okay you got me, I'll tell but I want in the Witness Protection Program." Wrache said.

"Same here." Dranche admitted.

"I'll talk to the local police force and see what they can do about that." Shepard said. "Same goes for Eridus." Wrache handed over the documentation.

"Here, the names of our employers, also if Legion looks further into the files he'll find that Mirsali was framed for Treason." Wrache said.

"You kept a record of your employer's names on you?" Tali asked.

"A habit I developed during my time as a Bounty Hunter, just encase my employers betray me." Wrache admitted.

"Legion, search for those documents, I think Tidoses will want to hear this." Shepard said.

"Acknowledged, looking for documents now." After a half hour of searching he found them. "This unit has found the documentation, sending it to Turian government."

"Good, Garrus escort these two to the police station; I'll tell Tidoses the good news." Shepard said.

"Right, come on you two or Jenny won't hesitate to use her shotgun on your balls." Garrus said leading the Krogan out.

"Tidoses, it's Shepard, Jenny and Tali where right about the Krogan but they've given up their employers and the fact that he was framed." Shepard could hear her sigh with relief.

"Thank you Shepard, unfortunately the news has come too late, my father died of a heart attack on the operating table a mere moment ago." Shepard's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry for your loss Tidoses." Shepard said.

"Don't worry, my father and I where never that close to begin with." Tidoses said. "I'll meet you on the Normandy."

"Hold on Garrus." Garrus stopped and turned to Shepard as did the Krogan.

"What is it?" Garrus asked.

"They won't be getting immunity." Shepard said and the other crew members looked at him oddly.

"But you said....." Dranche started.

"Garrus, what's the penalty for killing a well respected Turian diplomat?" Garrus blinked.

"Death by firing squad, why do you....." Realisation hit him. "Mirsali's dead isn't he?"

"Yes." The Krogan's eyes widened.

"It was Eridus, he shot him!" Dranche said.

"But due to the fact that you let him in your just as responsible as he is!" Garrus said.

"And we have your shotguns over here so yeah, you won't be able to get out of this." Jenny said.

"The Turian government has dropped the charges Shepard Commander." Legion said.

"Let them know of his death and tell them that Krostal Dranche, Urdnot Wrache, a clanless Krogan by the name of Eridus and Mirsali's associates are responsible for the crime." Shepard said and Legion nodded.

"Acknowledged, though this unit thinks the fact that it'll be all over the news soon will let them know instead." Legion said.

"We're heading back to the Normandy, Garrus meet us there." Shepard said.

"Got it Commander, see you then." Garrus said as the three soldiers left the study.


	29. City Of Husks prologue

"I take it you got the data I sent you?" Shepard asked the council, he was briefing them on the events on Palaven in the Citadel Tower.

"We did Shepard, thank you." Anderson said. "It's a good thing you proved that captain wasn't a real military officer as the implications of killing him, regardless of his morals, would have been disastrous for humanity."

"Whilst the Turian Government greatly mourns the death of Mirsali they are now willing to lend their forces in the Reaper battle, and rest assured that the Krogans, the associates and that doctor will be convicted and sentenced to death." Shepard blinked in surprise.

"That's the first I heard about it." Shepard asked.

"The doctor in charge of maintaining Mirsali's health, a Dr. Quyten Morlus, pronounced the Cause Of Death as a heart attack, we were suspicious for two reasons, the same doctor said that he was going to make it and his heart wasn't affected by Eridus' attack and that he was in excellent psysical condition so we had your associates Dr. Helen Chakwas and Dr. Mordin Solus conduct an autopsy, they found that the real cause of death that the heart had been sliced open causing fatal internal bleeding." The Turian councillor elaborated.

"I'm assuming that it was sliced open with a surgical knife?" Shepard asked.

"Indeed." The Turian councillor confirmed.

"This wasn't just some random attack; it was planned well in advance." Shepard realised.

"Indeed it was Commander, bribing the guards to let the first assassin into the building, bribing the doctor to ensure that Mirsali wouldn't live to see the trial, it was very well orchestrated." The Asari councillor agreed.

"What about the patrols around the Far Rim cluster?" Shepard asked.

"They haven't found much yet but they have found one thing, thanks to Dr. Matthew's research, the sun in that system is on life support so to speak." Anderson said.

"It's about to die? How long does it have?" Shepard asked.

"We can only estimate at the moment but all signs point to it dying in around 6 weeks." The Salarian councillor said.

"And this maybe the Reaper's last chance." Shepard said.

"Indeed, the Reapers will be arriving soon and we need your team loyal before then." Anderson said.

"We'll sort out getting the rest of the council races to assist Commander, but you still need to get the situation on Earth resolved."

"Not to mention the Krogan and Quarian situations." Shepard said having mentioned them in his report. "Earth's my next stop, then Tuchanka and finally the Migrant Fleet."

"Good, keep us noted on any developments." Anderson said.

"Sure, just as long as you do the same for me." Shepard said.

"Of course, Commander we'll be in touch." The Asari councillor said as Shepard turned around and was greeted by Drakus and Tidoses who had accompanied him.

"Sooner we get the business on Earth done the better." Drakus said.

"I couldn't agree more." Shepard agreed.

"Personally speaking, I'm glad that dumbass known as Wrache will never be let out of prison, he was the weak link in my Krant during the rebellions, both in skill and intelligence." Drakus added as they went up to the Rapid Transit.

"Didn't you say they where loyal to your dad for years?" Shepard asked Tidoses.

"Yeah, but I guess you can't trust Krogans to be loyal to anything but they're next paycheck, no offence Drakus." Tidoses quickly added.

"None taken." Drakus said.

"Wrache said that you taught him everything you knew." Shepard said.

"Yeah, I took him under my wing but only because he was the weaklink." Drakus said.

"A unit's as strong as its weakest link." Tidoses agreed.

"Exactly." Drakus said as they returned to the Normandy.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome aboard Commander Shepard, Tidoses "strangly hot for a Turian" Mirani and the big old smelly Krogan......"

"Yeah, the big old smelly Krogan who will kick your ass if you even think about finish that sentence." Drakus warned.

"But.....but I have Vrollik's Syndrome, my bones are hollow." Joker stammered.

"Good, that'll make my job a lot easier." Drakus said.

"Shutting up." Joker said quickly.

"Joker, plot a course for Earth." Shepard said.

"Got it Commander, we should be there in three hours." Joker said.

"When we get there I want you to land at New York Spaceport, everyone will be on this mission." Shepard said.

"Got it Commander." Joker said as the ship entered the Mass Relay and heading towards Earth. He heard a yawn and turned to see a bored looking Garrus.

"Hello Commander, I take it the meeting with the council went well?" Garrus asked.

"Well enough, turns out the doctor lied about the Cause Of Death and had caused the death of Mirsali himself." Shepard said. "So how was Elcor Hamlet?" Shepard asked, the rest of the crew had opted to see Elcor Hamlet whilst Shepard was at the meeting for some reason and had just gotten back.

"As Jenny would say, boring as all hell, that's going to be the last time; I go with a suggestion from Mordin that doesn't involve upgrades for the Normandy." Garrus said shaking his head. "I wanted to see the movie they based on the Citadel attack followed by the Blasto movie but nooooooo, apparently plays by Elcor are better than movies." Shepard couldn't help but smile at Garrus' mini rant.

"You do know the play was directed by a human right?" Shepard asked.

"Whatever, it was still boring, and everyone except Mordin agrees, I think Zach set the record for loudest snoring in that theatre."

"I DON'T SNORE!" Zach yelled from across the CIC.

"Yeah right, and I'm the star of a Hanar porno movie." Garrus shouted back shutting Zach up. "Where's our next stop Commander?"

"Earth, we'll be putting an end to the Husk attacks in New York before doing favours of Zach and Paul." Shepard explained.

"Good, it's really affected the human members of the crew, obviously not in a good way." Garrus said.

"Be ready for action, everyone's coming along for this mission." Shepard instructed.

"You know where to find me when we reach Earth." Garrus said walking off towards the elevator.

"Joker, let me know when we arrive on Earth." Shepard instructed.

"I will Commander." Joker said.

"I'll be with Grunt down in engineering Commander, if you want me then all you need to do is look down there." Drakus said walking off.

"I'll return to my post as well Shepard." Tidoses replied walking off passing by Liara as she did, Liara walked up to Shepard.

"Shepard, I have found some huge news." Liara said.

"You finally found out who out of the male councillors has the hots for the Asari councillor?" Joker chimed in.

"No, it's not that huge, even bigger in fact." Liara replied after rolling her eyes. "I have found the identity of the Shadow Broker." Shepard's eyes widened and he was sure that if Joker was drinking he would've done a spit take.

"Are you certain? People have been trying to deduce the Shadow Broker's identity for years, even centuries." Shepard pointed out.

"I'm certain, I double checked the data I got over and over again and it is accurate." Liara said.

"So, are you going to reveal who he is or keep us in suspense?" Joker asked.

"Off course, the Shadow Broker's real name is......"


	30. City Of Husks

"Well, who is he?" Joker said impatiently as he waited for Liara to finish what she was about to say.

"It's complicated, The Shadow Broker isn't a "he" per say, nor is The Shadow Broker a "she"." Liara answered.

"The Shadow Broker's a Transvestite?" Joker asked making Miranda spit her coffee out as she walked by.

"No Joker, not by a long shot." Liara said sighing with annoyance. "The Shadow Broker is a Reaper." Shepard's eyes widened.

"I guess that makes sense since the Shadow Broker's been around for centuries and has thousands of agents at his command." Shepard realised.

"That's not all, the Reaper uses an indoctrinated member of species targeted for harvesting to run the day to day, in this case he's using a human." Liara continued.

"Let me guess, its Udina right? That guy tried to have the Reaper threat dismissed after all." Joker pointed out.

"No, it's not Udina, though it is another man you are familier with." Liara said. "Charles Saracino."

"You can't be serious, the leader of Terra Firma? He's as xenophobic as xenophobes get and yet The Shadow Broker has agents spanning all races." Ashley said her curiosity peeked.

"I'm dead serious Ashley, I checked the data I got over and over again and it is accurate, it appears that Saracino lives a double life, in public he's the leader of Terra Firma, behind the scenes he's the Shadow Broker, or at least the front for the Reaper that's the real Shadow Broker." Liara explained.

"You want us to take out Saracino?" Shepard asked and Liara shook her head.

"No, it seems likely that the Reaper would just find another person to front the operation, that and there are worst Xenophobes than Saracino out there and if he dies it seems likely that they would gun for his position on Acturas." Liara said.

"She's got a point Commander, for his bad reputation Charles isn't the worse Xenophobe out there, you needn't look further than Cerberus for that." Ashley said walking up.

"But there is one other thing that we need sorting out, Ashley, Joker, no offence but this is a personal matter." Liara said, Ashley shrugged and walked off and Shepard led Liara to the briefing room.

"It's about the friend that helped you locate my remains, isn't it?" Shepard said remembering that part from their conversations on Ilium.

"Indeed, his name is Feron, a Drell, he held of the Shadow Broker's personal enforcer and gave me the chance I needed to escape, ever since I have been uncertain as to Feron's fate that is until now, whilst we were on the Citadel I contacted Barla Von." Liara said.

"I thought he died during the attack on the Citadel?" Shepard said.

"So did I but turns out that was another Volus who was working with Von at the time, Von on the other hand was on Noveria doing business, that's how I found out about the location of Feron." Liara explained.

"So, where is he?" Shepard asked.

"Noveria, at the remains of the Peak 15 facility, ever since it was vacated the facility has been used as a headquarters for a Shadow Broker minion posing as a rep for a newly founded company with interest in Noveria." Liara said.

"We'll go there soon." Shepard said.

"Good, I have a contact there that'll get us to the facility without much trouble, Captain Matsuo." Liara said.

"I remember her, didn't see come under fire from her superiors for letting Geth on to Noveria?" Shepard remembered.

"Yes, briefly though, there attention turned towards the receptionist in charge of the scanners knowing that Matsuo had nothing to do with it." Liara said.

"I didn't even realise that you had agents." Shepard said.

"I can't be the Asari's answer to the Shadow Broker without agents, can't I?" Liara pointed out.

"That's a fair point, so where are we meeting Matsuo?" Shepard asked.

"We're meeting her at the bar where we met Lorik during our last trip to Noveria." Liara replied.

"Good, shouldn't be to hard for me to remember where that place is." Shepard said as Joker's voice rang out over the intercom.

"We've landed at New York Spaceport Commander, man this place is a mess, even for New York." Joker said.

"Good, tell everyone to meet me at the airlock and make yourself comfortable, we've got quite a few missions here." Shepard said.

"Yeah, make myself comfortable in the city of the husks; yeah I don't see how that will be difficult." Joker replied sarcastically. "Why don't you ask me to sunbathe on Heastrum whilst you're at it? Or better yet tell me to challenge Grunt to a boxing match?" Shepard shook his head.

"If the Husks get to close for comfort use the Normandy's weapons on them, if the Normandy misses the crew can use the weapons from the Armoury to fight them off." Shepard said.

"Understood Commander." Joker said as Shepard and Liara left the room and walked towards the airlock to find the rest of the crew waiting outside.

"What took you so long?" Garrus greeted them as they left the Normandy.

"Dealing with Joker's understandable, but still annoying, paranoia about being in a city full of Husks, what's the situation?"

"We've located one Dragon's Teeth already and it's been taken care of." Marcus said. "Sdres searched the whole area with his teleportation ability, there's no more Dragon's Teeth and there where a handful of Husks just south of our position but he took care of them."

"It stands to reason that there's more Dragon's Teeth out in the city, unfortunately that also applies to husks." Drakus added.

"Oh right people, our main objective is to locate and destroy the Dragon's Teeth and any and all remaining Husks, secondary objective is to find survivors and get them to safety." Shepard instructed.

"It's a big city, a lot of ground to cover, i suggest splitting up." Drakus said but Shepard shook his head.

"Sdres can cover the other city blocks and areas much quicker than we can due to his teleporting ability, he'll the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Harlem, and we'll stick with the main street." Shepard said.

"I understand Commander; once I'm done I'll contact you." Sdres said before teleporting off.

"Everyone else follow me." Shepard said leading the way, after a few minutes of taking care of isolated husks and searching buildings unsuccessfully for survivors they encountered a large group of Husks.

"This might be troublesome." Mordin said in his usual quick manner.

"Oh come on, they're just Husks, what's the worst that can....." Zeead trailed off when he saw a Scion. "OH YOU SON OF A BITCH! GET TO COVER!" Even though he wasn't charge everyone followed his orders, Shepard swapped out his Assault Rifel for the Blackstorm.

"Shepard, is that what I think it is?" Tidoses asked.

"That depends; do you think it's the Blackstorm Projector?" Shepard asked coily, he looked around to make sure everyone was in cover, Grunt, Drakus and the McKansas where in the same Ally, Marcus was standing next to him using an overturned car as cover and the others he couldn't see. "Is everyone in cover?" Shepard asked.

"I'm in cover Shepard." Garrus said.

"What he said." Everyone else replied.

"Don't go towards the husks no matter what, same goes for you Grunt." Shepard ordered, before Grunt could protest he charged and fired the blackstorm, the husks where swept up immediately and after a few minutes of struggling the Scion joined them, the crew fired occasionally before the husks and scion where sucked in and the singularity exploded everyone came out of cover their jaws dropped.

"Shepard, what the hell was that?" Marcus eventually asked.

"The Blackstorm Projector and that was its test run." Shepard said holstering the gun.

"Can I play with it later?" Grunt asked and a few seconds later everyone's shocked awe turned to horror when they realised how much destruction Grunt could cause with the weapon.

"The Blackstorm's off limits to everyone but me and Tidoses, it was designed for the SPECTERS and as a result will be used by the only SPECTERS on the team, and no Ashley and Drakus, SPECTER candidates don't count." Shepard said and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's fine; I'll have some fun with it when I'm accepted." Drakus shrugged.

"Never thought I'd find myself agreeing with a Krogan but yeah, what Drakus said." Ashley added.

"Commander, I've got a message from the Council, when we're done on Earth they want to talk to you, something about a weapon that'll give the council races a huge advantage against the Reapers." Joker said over the intercom.

"Thanks for the heads up Joker." Shepard replied. "How are things with the Normandy?"

"If you're talking about Husk activity it seems that the most activity is in the city it's self, EDI'S been searching international broadcasts for any other reports of Husks attacks, translating the ones coming from none English speaking countries of course, but fortunately it seems to be isolated within New York." Joker replied.

"What about National?" Shepard asked.

"Same with International, there were some Husk sightings outside of New York but they were restricted within the local area and most were killed by highway traffic, seems the local police force is blaming it on Junkies." Joker said.

"Yeah, that's a real big surprise there." Garrus said sarcastically.

"How are they explaining the Dragon's Teeth?" Shepard said.

"They're blaming religious cults or something along those lines." Joker said.

"Okay, thanks for the info, anything else?" Shepard said.

"Yeah, message from the former Asari consort, Xraltion was found dead this morning in an alleyway, she suspects it to be the work of the Broker's agents." Joker added.

"Any idea what killed him?" Shepard asked knowing that Elcors where the hardest council species to kill due to their size, as for none council species he ranked them right behind the Krogan due to their robust nervous system and ability to regenerate and up until his first encounter with the Krylkock in the Far Rim cluster he considered them to be the toughest none council species to kill.

"Err, yeah a gunshot to the head, point blank with incendiary rounds, according to the Autopsy report he was dead in minutes." Joker replied. "Don't take my word for it; I'm just relaying the info from her message." Joker added.

"Forward it to my Terminal so I can look at it later." Shepard ordered.

"Got it Commander and just like that it's forwarded." Joker said.

"Is that all the messages?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, for now, I'll let you know if anything else comes up." Joker said before cutting off.

"EDI, scan the news reports for any idea as to where the remaining Dragons Teeth are." Shepard ordered.

"Of course Commander, scanning news reports from New York now." EDI said. "I have found that reports of three Dragons Teeth in Central Park."

"That doesn't narrow it down EDI." Shepard pointed out.

"There's one in west, one in centre and one in south." EDI answered.

"Thank you." Shepard said hanging up. "The remaining Dragons Teeth are in West, South and the centre of Central Park, it stands to reason that those locations mean that the Husk activity is localised within Central park, we'll split up into teams of three, Drakus, take the McKansas with you and take out the Dragon's Teeth in the South."

"Got it, come on you two." Drakus said motioning the McKansas to follow him.

"Ashley, you're with Sidonis and Samara, your job is to take out the one in the west." Shepard said.

"Aye, Aye Shepard, we've got work to do people." Ashley said the last part to Sidonis and Samara and they followed her to into the Park.

"Garrus, Thane, your with me, everyone else will scour the park and surrounding area for survivors, remember that the area's a hot zone for Husk activity so be on the alert." Shepard ordered as Garrus and Thane joined them, everyone else nodded in agreement. "Drakus, Ashley, contact me when you're done."

"Got it Commander, we'll be in touch." Ashley said and Drakus nodded in agreement as they led there teams into Central Park, Shepard lead his team into the park as did everyone else.

"This is certainly relaxing." Thane commented looking around.

"Commander, it's Sdres, the areas that you wanted me to check are clear of hostiles and I've found survivors." Sdres said over the intercom.

"How many survivors did you find?" Shepard asked.

"Ten, mostly women and children, they don't seem to trust me due to the Husk attacks." Sdres said.

"Do you see anywhere that's safe to take them?" Shepard asked.

"I see a small building nearby, big enough for all of them but the doorway's too small for me to fit through." Sdres said.

"Make sure that the area's cleared and once it is tell them to go in the building and lock it from the inside," Shepard ordered. "Once your done teleport to our location and do recon from the rooftops, we're entering the Husk hot zone."

"I will Commander, see you then." Sdres said before hanging up.

"Come on guys, let's kick some Husk ass!" Shepard said.

"That sounds good to me Shepard." Garrus said entering the park with Thane.

"Indeed." Thane replied. They fought through several different groups of Husks occasionally fighting a Scion.

"The Dragon's Teeth you're ordered us to destroy has been, well, destroyed." Drakus said. "Hope you've got some explosives on you because that's the only way to destroy them."

"Do Grenades count?" Shepard asked.

"How many do you have?" Drakus asked.

"6, Garrus and Thane have some as well." Shepard answered.

"You'll need 6 grenades to bring one of those things down; I recommend throwing each grenade at the base of the Dragon's Teeth and detonating them remotely."

"Shepard, do you copy?" A panicked sounding Ashley asked.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"We sighted a Reaper about half an hour ago, it's gone but it's left us a going away present." Ashley said. "And by that I mean an Indoctrinated Krylkock." Shepard's eyes widened.

"Are you injured?" Shepard asked.

"No, and neither are my squad mates, there's no way in hell we can get close enough to the Dragon's Teeth to detonate the grenades." Ashley said.

"Leave it to me." Sdres said over the intercom.

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked.

"We may differ in size but the only species that go toe to toe with a Krylkock is another Krylkock, I'll keep it busy, you take out the Dragon's Teeth." Sdres said.

"You do that and whatever you do DON'T let that thing leave the city." Shepard ordered.

"If that means that I must sacrifice my life than I'll do what I can." Sdres said.

"Sdres is fighting the Krylkock, now's our chance." Ashley said as Shepard heard the sounds of a wild brawl coming from Ashley's location.

"As curious as I am to see that fight we have a job to do Commander." Garrus said.

"Right, Joker, take the Normandy into orbit now!" Shepard ordered.

"Are you sure Commander?" Joker asked.

"Joker, there's an Indoctrinated Krylkock here, do you really want to meet one of those things again?" Shepard pointed out.

"I'm taking off now!" Joker quickly said clearly terrified.

"When I give the signal return the Normandy to the Spaceport!" Shepard added as they neared the centre.

"Got it Commander, I'll just quietly piss myself from fear up here in Space!" Joker replied, ignoring the best (and most annoying) helmsman in the Galaxy they made their way towards the centre and where greeted by hundreds of Husks.

"My god, how many people where indoctrinated here?" Shepard asked.

"I shudder to think." Garrus said. "Is it time to whip out the Blackstorm?" Shepard looked around.

"You two get to cover behind those trees, I'll take care of it." Shepard said getting the Blackstorm out, five seconds of charging later and Shepard fired it before quickly getting to cover. The husks where quickly sucked into the singularity and flew around helplessly, seconds later the Husks where sucked in and the singularity exploded.

"I never get tired of seeing that thing in action." Garrus commented only to here more Husk groans coming from the west, however the unmistakeable sound of a shockwave filled the air sending the husks flying, they turned around and saw Drakus with the McKansas.

"Neither do we Garrus." Drakus chuckled.

"Miss us?" Zach joked.

"Like the presence of Scale Itch on the Normandy." Shepard returned the joke as Garrus set the explosives.

"Stand clear everyone." Garrus said getting clear off the inevitable explosion, once everyone was clear Garrus detonated the grenades blowing up the Dragons Teeth's base.

"TIMBER!" Zach yelled as the Dragon's Teeth fell over.

"Why did he yell that?" Garrus whispered to Shepard.

"It's something that woodsman would yell when chopping down a tree for whatever reason, usually as a warning to anyone nearby." Shepard replied.

"Shouldn't I of yelled that then?" Garrus asked.

"Bit late now." Shepard pointed out.

"Good point." Garrus admitted.

"Shepard, it's Ashley, Sdres tricked the Krylkock into destroying the Dragon's Teeth, and the best part is that the explosion weakened in enough for Sdres to finish it off." Ashley said.

"Did anyone get injured?" Shepard asked.

"After seeing firsthand what Sdres' indoctrinated buddies are capable off we stayed the hell away from the fight." Ashley replied.

"Okay, we're heading back to the Spaceport; we have a couple of things to take care off before leaving." Shepard said.

"Right, meet you outside the park." Ashley replied and the six of them left the park.


	31. Sibling rivalry

"So where are we going again?" Garrus asked, he alongside Zeead, the McKansas, Shepard and Ashley where on their way to Edinburgh to help secure Zach's loyalty.

"Edinburgh, the youngest McKansa sibling is having boy trouble." Shepard explained.

"And this requires our attention, why?" Ashley asked.

"Let me put it this way, Garrus you remember the last time we were in Edinburgh?" Shepard asked.

"Ah yeah, the whole mess with Jenny's sister being a cop killer." Garrus nodded.

"Turns out that Sophie, the youngest McKansa sibling, happened to pick a guy who was the son of a high ranking police officer and since she broke up with him the police officer's been threatening to make Kate's life a living hell." Jenny explained.

"I don't see how he could make things much worse, isn't she facing a Life Sentence?" Ashley pointed out.

"Life without parole to be precise, add that to the fact that she pretended to be in trouble to lure the police officer to his death and the fact that she lied about it at first and the cops have a very strong case against her." Garrus explained.

"For what it's worth, I'll give her credit for creativity." Zeead shrugged earning a glare from Garrus.

"Well Kate's lawyer contacted me after we got done on Feros, Kate's offered to testify against the leader of the gang in exchange for Life with the possibility of parole, and let's just say that this police officer is pretty damn influential." Zach explained.

"You didn't mention that before." Shepard said.

"I was going too until Jenny interrupted our conversation." Zach answered.

"This guy's influential enough to effect a judge's decision?" Ashley asked.

"Worse, the lawyer suspects that if Kate testifies than the police officer will use his influence to make the testimony go away so to speak." Zach said.

"Let me guess, the lawyer can't prove it?" Zeead asked.

"Yeah, the officer's been suspected of being corrupt in the past but he's damn good at covering his tracks." Jenny said.

"That's not the worst part, the boyfriend not only cheated on her and abused her but add that to the fact that she's on the Autism spectrum and well her ex has an ass kicking coming his way." Zach added.

"The what spectrum?" Garrus asked confused.

"Autism, it's a human condition, affects mostly males but has been known to affect females as well, I'd explain it but it's pretty damn complicated so instead." Zach said activated his onmi tool. "I'll forward the details to your onmi-tool." Garrus looked at his onmi tool and nodded.

"Got the data Zach, guess I have some reading material for the rest of the trip." Garrus said reading the info, eventually he looked up. "Okay, I got the basic info, how severe is Sophie's case?"

"Not that severe, you could almost mistake her for someone not on the Autism spectrum; however we've seen some bad cases of Autism that were not pretty." Zach answered.

"And this ex of her's took advantage of it? I may have to join you in the ass kicking." Garrus said.

"Same here." Zeead agreed.

"What they said." Ashley agreed but Zach shook his head.

"No, I want to handle this myself, I'm her older brother and therefore I'll take care of it." Zach said folding his arms.

"If you say so, how long until we get there anyway?" Ashley asked.

"We have arrived at Edinburgh Shuttle Station." The shuttle's VI said opening the door.

"You where saying?" Shepard asked Ashley as the six of them emerged from the shuttle.

"That was just good timing." Ashley said with a shrug. "So where are we headed?"

"Our parent's place, Sophie still lives there and she forgot to include a picture of her ex with the e-mail." Zach said.

"Why do I get the feeling I won't be welcome there." Garrus pointed out.

"Oh come on! How much more distrustful can they're parents be towards Turians than these two?" Shepard asked.

"Well our mum isn't that bad; our dad on the other hands makes us look like Turian sympathizers." Jenny said.

"Okay, Garrus you're still coming with us but when we reach the McKansa household wait outside." Shepard said and Garrus nodded. "How far is it from here?" Shepard asked Zach.

"Not far from here, if we walk west from here without stopping we'll be there in twenty minutes give or take." Jenny said.

"That sounds good, lead the way." Shepard said and they followed the McKansas for twenty minutes before stopping at a small house.

"Is this the place?" Ashley asked and Zach nodded, Zach and Jenny went up to the door and rung the doorbell and a few minutes later a man in his later forties with short, greying red hair answered the door.

"Zach, Jenny, it's good to see you both." The man said with a smile and they smiled back.

"Same goes for you two dad." Zach said before their father noticed Shepard.

"Commander Shepard?" The father asked.

"Yes, you must be the McKansa sibling's father." Shepard greeted the man.

"Aye, I'm Michael McKansa, the poor bastard that had to put up with them growing up." Michael said in a joking manner.

"_Guess we know where they got their humour from."_ Shepard thought.

"Dad, where's Sophie?" Jenny asked.

"She's in her room; she hasn't come out since that scumbag ex of hers made those threats." Michael said and Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"Her ex threatened her?" Shepard said.

"Aye, and I'm not just talking about the threats his dad made towards Kate, he threatened physical violence against her." Michael said shaking her head. "You wouldn't understand what life is like for her Shepard, she....doesn't see things the way you and I do."

"There's no need to sugar-coat it Michael, Zach and Jenny have told me about Sophie's autism." Shepard said.

"Do you have any idea where that bastard is now?" Jenny said angry at this revelation.

"If I did, well let's say that Sophie wouldn't have to worry about him." Michael sighed.

"Shepard, we're heading up to see Sophie." Zach said.

"We'll be right here." Shepard said in reply as the siblings entered the house.

"Why didn't Sophie mention the threats?" Jenny said as they climbed the stairs.

"You know what she's like sis, she always thinks of others first which is probably why she only mentioned the threats towards Kate." Zach said.

"True." Jenny shrugged as they approached the door at the end of the room, Sophie's room and Jenny knocked. "Sophie, it's me can I come in?"

"Jenny?" Sophie's voice came from the other side of the door. "Is anyone else with you?"

"Oh no one special, there's just me and your brother." Jenny answered.

"No one special my arse!" Zach countered, the door opened and Sophie, who like Kate was the splitting image of Jenny only shorter, greeted them.

"Jenny! Zach!" She greeted her two siblings happily though the siblings could tell that she had been crying a lot.

"If you're done crushing us can we come in?" Zach asked.

"Oh right, sorry about that." She said letting go and letting them into her room, they entered and looked around.

"We got your message, you didn't mention being threatened." Zach pointed out and Sophie's smile quickly disappeared.

"I didn't want to worry you." Sophie said rubbing her arm uncomfortably.

"Didn't want to worry us? Sis you're being blackmailed into taking back a guy who cheated on and abused you, I think we have plenty of reasons to worry about you." Zach pointed out; it was then that he noticed a large bruise on her cheek, a recent one. "Where did you get that?"

"I fell." She said quickly, too quickly for their tastes.

"Sis, you know you can tell us anything." Jenny said when she noticed a familiar face in a photo. "Is this him?" Sophie looked up and nodded.

"Yeah that's him, his name's Rick." Sophie said, Zach noticed Jenny's frown and went to talk to her.

"You know this guy?" Zach whispered.

"Yeah, you remember the favour Shepard did for me that I mentioned on the way over?" Zach nodded. "This is the same guy who led the cleanup crew." Jenny said.

"Are you sure? That was a few weeks ago?" Zach pointed out.

"I'm sure." Jenny said,

"Guess it's a small universe after all." Zach quipped.

"I'm heading down to see Shepard; see if you can get her....." Jenny started but Sophie cut her off.

"Wait, I'll tell you, when I told Rick that we were through he punched me, which is the reason why I haven't been out of this room since then." Sophie admitted before crying, Jenny and Zach saw red after hearing this.

"Jenny, tell dad and Shepard, I'll comfort Sophie." Zach said and Jenny nodded, she walked out of the room and down the stairs, she saw Shepard talking with her dad and walked up to them.

"Jenny, what did you find out?" Shepard asked.

"That her ex did more than just threaten her, he had the nerve the punch her when she broke up with him." Jenny said.

"That bastard!" Shepard said angrily.

"That's not all; he's also someone we know from when we were last here." Jenny said showing Shepard the picture.

"The leader of the cleanup crew is her ex? This is way beyond coincidence." Garrus commented when he saw the picture.

"Where's your bother?" Michael asked.

"Comforting Sophie, she started crying soon after she told us what her ex did?" Jenny said.

"Correction, I was comforting Sophie, once I made sure she was calmed down I left her alone." Zach said leaving the house.

"So what's the plan now?" Shepard asked.

"Track down the bastard and give him a taste of his own medicine." Zach said.

"We have no idea where he is though......" Jenny started until a familiar face rounded the corner.

"Sophie, this is....." Rick started but was cut off by a sharp left hook from Garrus. "What the hell?"

"I should be asking you the same thing." Garrus snapped as Rick got up and saw Zach and Jenny glaring daggers at him.

"Hey, you're the bitch that damn near broke my back with your biotics just to get evidence for your sister's murder conviction, who's the other jackass?" Rick said unapologetically.

"Sophie's pissed off older brother." Zach said cracking his knuckles, Rick's eyes widened.

"Well I've got to go....." Rick started but turned around into another punch from Zaeed.

"You're lucky Zach wants to beat the shit out of you, otherwise your own mother wouldn't be able to recognise you." Zaeed said folding his arms.

"This is unfair....." Rick started but Zach forced him to his feet and grabbed him by the collar.

"Unfair? You have the nerve to call something unfair after all the bullshit you put someone with Autism through?" Zach growled.

"Typical, the McKansas are all thugs....." Rick trailed off when Zach drew his Camfax Hand Cannon.

"Finish that sentence and your head will have a nice new hole in it, courtesy of a bullet." Zach warned.

"There's no....no need to tell me twice." Rick said as he turned to leave but Zach spun him around.

"I want you out of my sister's life for good! If I hear anything from my father about you even being within ten feet of her you won't be so lucky next time!" Zach warned.

"And just to make sure of that I'll put a restraining order out against you." Michael said.

"You can't do that! My dad,,,,,"

"He'll be getting a visit from us so don't even think about running off to his office." Ashley warned and Rick ran off.

"What happened to the beating he was going to get?" Jenny asked Zach.

"Sophie made me promise that I wouldn't put him in hospital." Zach said shaking his head. "Shouldn't matter anyway, I don't think he'll come around here ever again."

"Kid must be pretty damn persuasive." Zaeed said with a chuckle.

"Nah, she's just persistent as all hell." Zach replied.

"Come on; let's talk his father out of making things worse for Kate." Shepard said and they walked back towards the shuttle station, they walked across the street and entered the police station and saw Eric talking to the receptionist.

"Hello Eric." Shepard greeted and the police officer looked up.

"Shepard, wish I could say it was good to see you again but there's a bit of a problem, word's gotten around that some associates of yours beat up and threatened the life of Rick McChinso." Eric greeted.

"Let me guess, he's the son of a high ranking officer right?" Garrus asked and Eric nodded. "Rick was dating the youngest McKansa sibling, only he cheated on and beat her, when she finally broke up with him he punched her and if it weren't for us being at her house when we were he probably would have done allot worse."

"I knew that kid was bad news, and besides what jury would convict someone defending a woman from her abusive and cheating boyfriend." Eric said with a nod.

"Exactly, quite frankly he's lucky we didn't do worse to him." Garrus replied.

"We need to speak to his dad; can you show us where his office is?" Shepard asked.

"Well, I was about to go off shift but what the hell? Follow me." Eric said motioning for them to follow him, Jenny and Zach briefly glanced into Kate's cell and saw her talking to an Asari who Zach guessed was her lawyer, they went up to the top floor of the police station and stopped in front of a large door.

"This is his office?" Shepard asked and Eric nodded, Shepard knocked on the door.

"I'm busy!" An older Scottish voice yelled from the other side.

"Busy enough for the first human SPECTER?" Shepard shouted back.

"Hold on!" The voice replied and a few seconds later a tall man in a police officer's uniform answered the door. "What do you want?"

"Nice to meet you too and I want you to stop threatening to use your influence to make sure that Kate's testimony against her gang leader doesn't go missing!" Shepard said angrily.

"You came all the way down here just for that? That bitch is a cop killer, she deserves that Life Sentence." The cop replied.

"I'm not saying she doesn't but I have two of her siblings here with me and I'm doing this as a favour for them o you either stop trying to make her situation any worse than it already is or you'll have to deal with the wrath of a someone who not only has military training but is also armed to the teeth, is it worth it just so your son can beat up his Autistic girlfriend?" Shepard asked and the officer's eyes narrowed.

"Don't you dare talk about my....." The officer was cut off when he was thrown against the wall by Zach's biotics. "Do you have any idea what you just did you little piece of shit? Your under arrest for assaulting a....."

"He's a member of my crew which means he can do whatever he wants without worrying about the consequences, that and do you really think arresting a SPECTER'S crew member will leave a good impression on the council?" Shepard interrupted him.

"Okay fine, I'll stop the blackmail campaign maybe even arrange it so that your sister gets sent to a prison closer to her family." The officer relented.

"That's good enough but if it starts up again we'll be back and you won't be as lucky as you where this time, understood?" Shepard warned.

"Perfectly." The officer replied.

"Good, that means we're done here." Shepard said walking out.

"Shepard, before we leave I want to tell Kate the good news, I hope you don't mind." Zach said as they walked down the stairs.

"Of course not, that okay with you Eric?" Shepard asked as they neared the bottom of the stairs.

"Normally he'd have to have his fingerprint scanned but I'm guessing you can vouch for him?" Eric asked as they neared the cells.

"Yeah, I can vouch for him." Shepard said as they approached the cell.

"McKansa, you have a visitor." Eric said.

"I was under the impression that visiting hours where up?" The Asari pointed out.

"We made a special exception in this case." Eric replied motioning to Shepard, the Asari's eyes widened in surprise.

"Commander Shepard, I can see why they made a special exception in your case, what do you want to see my client for?" The Asari said confirming Zach's earlier suspicions.

"I suppose you've heard about the blackmail scandal going on with the McKansas?" Shepard asked and the Asari lawyer nodded.

"It was the first thing my client mentioned to me when I talked to her yesterday; I've been trying everything in my power to stop it." The lawyer replied.

"Then it's a good thing that two of her siblings are members of my crew, we persuaded the officer to stop the blackmail." Shepard said and the Asari lawyer smiled as did Kate.

"Excellent, I think you should also know that my client has her testimony prepared in preparation for the upcoming trial." The Lawyer said to Eric.

"Good, would you mind if Zach talks to her for a few minutes, they haven't exactly seen each other recently?" Shepard asked and the lawyer smiled.

"So I heard, I'll only allow it if it's of the record." The lawyer said.

"Of course." Eric said and the lawyer nodded and left the cell stopping when she saw Garrus.

"I see the favour you owed me is paying off well for you." Garrus said and the lawyer smiled.

"She's lucky to have a lawyer as skilled as I am; by paying for my lawyer fees you did her and her relatives a huge favour." The Asari lawyer said before walking off, Jenny looked at Garrus surprised.

"You paid for my sister's lawyer?" Jenny asked.

"Least I could do to help, besides the lawyer owed me a favour, only downside is I had to pay for her lawyer fees and her services didn't come cheap, luckily I was able to pay for it, with Shepard's help." Garrus said his mandibles indicating a smile. "Besides, she's a far better lawyer than any public defence attorney she would've gotten if it weren't for my intervention."

"Guess I owe you one." Jenny said with a smile but Garrus shook his head.

"No need, I did this as a favour to you and Zach, nothing more." Garrus said. "All though if you brought me a drink I certainly wouldn't complain." Garrus added.

"I'm underage remember?" Jenny pointed out.

"Who said anything about the Citadel?" Garrus said with a smile.

"Well, if she's going to buy you a drink I'll buy one for you as well." Zach said and Garrus turned around.

"Are you two going to buy me drinks until I'm in an alcohol poisoning induced coma?" Garrus joked.

"Hope not, we still need you for the mission." Shepard chimed in. "Come on, we still have one more thing to do here before we leave." Shepard said as they left the police station.


	32. Goodbyes and an edge

To say allot had happened between Zach's loyalty mission and now was an understatement.

The problems between the McKansa siblings and the Turians on board had been smoothed over due to a combination of a Turian clearing Robert McKansa's name and the fact that Garrus had paid for one of the most skilled lawyers in the galaxy to represent Kate McKansa at her upcoming trial.

"_Not without a little assistance from me, off course." _Shepard thought, the reason he helped with the payment was due to two reasons, one he wanted to avoid any heated confrontations between either Tidoses or Sidonis _"Or both." _Shepard added and two because he was worries that Jenny's loyalty was in question so he did that so that Jenny's loyalty was secure and based on her demeanour on the Normandy it wasn't, he would've told her sooner but he got sidetracked by recruiting/other loyalty missions not to mention other missions that popped up. _"At least she knows now."_ Shepard thought, he was currently on the shuttle with Paul and Gillian, the young girl still seemed stressed over going to a foster home and whilst Shepard had his doubts he trusted Paul's judgement, the orphanage was in New York so they wouldn't have to travel as far as they did for Zach's loyalty mission, problem was it was on the other side of the city which was why he took the Shuttle. "Having any second thoughts Paul?" Shepard asked.

"Even if I was, it's too late now." Paul replied. "Just to be on the safe side I hired a local Blue Suns merc band to keep an eye on her whilst I'm on the Normandy."

"That wasn't necessary; I have friends in the Alliance that could've done that for you free of charge." Shepard pointed out.

"I appreciate the thought but I doubt those friends of yours would've done it after learning about my past." Paul said sadly. "Besides, the merc band is trustworthy they engage in victimless crimes like Weapons smuggling and illegal gambling."

"You put a lot of thought into this didn't you?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, and it was all to ensure my stepdaughter's safety." Paul said with a smile.

"But I don't want to go to the orphanage." Gillian protested.

"Gillian, we've been through this, you know that you're putting yourself in great danger just by being on the Normandy, this isn't easy on me either but it's for the best." Paul said sadly, Shepard had to admit that this scene was tugging at his heartstrings.

"We have arrived." The shuttle's VI announced and the door opened, Gillian hesitated but got of the shuttle, Paul saw a Turian in a Blue Sun's uniform and nodded towards him and the Turian returned the gesture, an elderly woman greeted the two of them ignoring the Turian.

"You must be Paul Grayson; it's nice to finally meet you." The woman greeted. "I'm Mrs. Rhydrove, I run the orphanage with my husband."

"Likewise, this is Gillian." Paul said and the young girl reluctantly approached the old woman.

"Who's the man you brought with you?" Mrs. Rhydrove asked.

"I'm Command Jason Shepard, a SPECTER, Paul is a part of my crew and I've come down to make sure everything's in order." Shepard greeted the woman catching the Turian's attention for a moment but the Turian never said anything.

"Wow, this is an unexpected honour to be sure; a lot of the children here look up to you Shepard." Shepard couldn't help but blush at that.

"I'm honoured that some of the kids here consider me to be an icon." Shepard said staying professional to his credit.

"You know what, it'll make there day if you where to come inside and have a bit of a meet and greet with them." Mrs. Rhydrove said and Shepard smiled.

"I'll be honoured." Shepard said.

For the next two hours Shepard signed autographs and took pictures with the kids, he said his goodbyes and went outside waiting for Paul to emerge, he eventually did but he had tears in his eyes.

"You're going to miss her, aren't you?" Shepard asked.

"That little girl changed my life in ways you couldn't possibly imagine Shepard, but it's for the best, and I promised her that I'll keep in contact with her." Paul said and the Turian approached them.

"I'll have my men keep an eye on her Paul and if she finds new parents I'll contact you personally." The Turian said.

"I appreciate that Irrasius." Paul said to the Turian.

"Yeah, I can see how much this is affecting you but don't worry, my men will keep her safe." Irrasius reassured him before turning to Shepard. "I wasn't expecting to meet the legendary Commander Shepard but none the less this is an honour."

"Thank you for the kind words Irrasius." Shepard replied. "We'd better get going; I have to contact the Citadel Council as soon as I return to the Normandy."

"I understand Shepard, see you around." Irrasius said walking off, Shepard and Paul returned to the shuttle and to the Normandy and once they were inside Shepard handed him a tissue.

"Thanks, err if it isn't too much trouble I'd like some time to myself if that's okay." Paul said.

"I understand, EDI would you tell the other crewmembers to give Paul some privacy until tomorrow?" Shepard asked the AI.

"Of course Shepard." EDI said.

"Well, I'll see you around I guess." Paul said walking off towards the elevator, Shepard entered the briefing room and opened up the comm. Link for the Citadel Council.

"I see that the Husk situation on Earth has been dealt with Commander." The Turian Councillor said.

"Not only that but I secured the loyalty of three of my crewmembers." Shepard added.

"Good news all round in other words." Councillor Anderson said.

"Yes, I understand you wanted to talk to me about a weapon that'll give us a huge advantage over the Reapers." Shepard said.

"Indeed Commander, surprisingly it came from the Krylkock's homeworld." Shepard blinked in surprise when the Asari councillor said this.

"The Krylkock's technology may have been advanced for its time but now?" Shepard pointed out.

"Once you where done we sent Kirrahee's crew back to the homeworld to see if they could find anything else, they found something extraordinary." Anderson said.

"Whilst it is true that the Krylkock are a Warrior race it seemed that they had partnership with another race that lived on a nearby planet, the race was called the Trkackia." The Salarian councillor said.

"They where a Warrior race a lot like the Krylkock in terms of government and culture but more technologically advanced, they developed some truly amazing technology, including a weapon that according to the technicians on Kirrahee's team could theoretically take out a Reaper in one hit." Anderson elaborated and Shepard's eyes widened in amazement.

"That's incredible, but I'm guessing they never got a chance to use it." Shepard said.

"Sad but true." An unfamiliar voice said and Shepard blinked.

"Who was that?" Shepard asked.

"We were going to tell you later but I suppose this is as good a time as any, the Trkackia where victims of the Reapers but they didn't wipe everyone out." Anderson said and Shepard didn't know what to say.

"There's another survivor from the last Reaper attack?" Shepard said.

"Yes and he'll be joining your crew, step forward Mrejius." Anderson said and a creature the size of a regular sized human male whose face looked like a cross between a Lion and a Tiger stepped forward, fairly muscular with fur covering his body and armed to the teeth.

"It is an honour to meet you Commander Shepard." Mrejius said his voice elegant and sophisticated.

"I hope you understand how big a shock this is to me." Shepard said.

"Off course Commander, we were equally shocked to tell you the truth." Anderson admitted.

"How does he fit into all of this?" Shepard asked.

"I was the one developing the weapon but when the Reapers came I activated a failsafe, it put me into a coma that simulated death and it saved my life, Kirrahee and his crew almost buried me when Kirrahee realised that I was still alive and brought me out of the coma." Mrejius said.

"Why didn't the rest of your race use the failsafe?" Shepard asked and Mrejius sighed.

"It is with great sadness in my heart that I say that every other member of my race never got the chance, I am the last surviving member of my species." Mrejius said sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Shepard said.

"I appreciate your kind words Shepard." Mrejius said. "However if my race dies with me then I want the legacy of my people to be the ones who finished off the Reapers, my plan is to develop and install a miniaturized version of the weapon onto your ship."

"I'll be honoured to help you with that." Shepard said.

"He'll be waiting for you on the Citadel outside the Citadel tower; you might want to let your crew know." Anderson said before cutting off.

"Joker, call an emergency meeting for everyone except Paul." Shepard ordered.

"I understand Commander." Joker said, Shepard went down to the conference room and saw everyone except Paul in the room, he could tell that he had interrupted Dinner as everyone had brought drinks with them.

"Everyone, the reason I called this meeting is because we are going to be recruiting a new member soon. And with this new member comes new technology." Shepard started and could tell that the crew was curious. "The crew member is a man called Mrejius, he's a member of the Trkackia race, a warrior race much like the Krylkock but more technologically advanced."

"Okay, but I'm still not sure why this is emergency meeting worthy." Jenny said curiously echoing the thoughts of everyone else.

"I understand your scepticism but this is the interesting part, he developed a weapon powerful enough to take out a Reaper in one hit." Shepard said and anyone who was taking a sip of their drinks nearly choked on it when they heard that, everyone else stared at him in shock.

"By the goddess, that's amazing." Liara eventually said.

"Unfortunately the Reapers attacked before he could use it, he used the advanced technology at his disposal to put himself in a death like coma and remained that way for thousands of years until he and the weapon where discovered." Shepard said.

"Wait, does that mean what I think it does?" Ashley asked shocked.

"Yes, he's a survivor of the last Reaper attack." Everyone else was even more shocked at this.

"Amazing, would love a chance to speak with him, someone with his expertise would be incredibly useful." Mordin said in his usual quick manner.

"That's not all, he intends to install a miniaturized version of the weapon onto the Normandy's weapons system." Shepard added. "We'll be meeting him on the Citadel and, as a result of the amount of work such a project would require everyone is on four day's shore leave." He could tell that everyone was happy about that. "Due to the missions high priority we're postponing the missions on Tuchanka and the Migrant Fleet until after we get this done, that's all dismissed." Everyone left and Shepard leaned against the comm. Link when he spotted an incoming message, he checked it and frowned, it was from the Illusive Man.


	33. Securing the Galaxy's fate

"Commander Shepard, I'm glad you took the time out of your busy schedule to speak with me again." The Illusive Man said taking a puff from his cigarette.

"If this is about your operative on that ship then I'm sorry but I couldn't have gotten there any sooner." Shepard said.

"He was expandable, but that's not why I contacted you." The Illusive Man started.

"So why call me?" Shepard asked.

"I'll give you credit, having the council increase patrols around the Far Rim cluster was a clever move but it appears that The Reapers have a backup plan." The Illusive Man said.

"What do you mean by that?" Shepard asked.

"A Turian patrol has discovered a new mass relay." The Illusive Man said as a hologram of the relay appeared beside him. "They were initially under orders to enter the relay and make first contact with any new species they discovered, that was until it was discovered that the Relay lead to Dark Space, they have shut off the relay but given who we're dealing with here it's only a matter of time before The Reapers reactivate it."

"And I'm guessing they'll do that if the Far Rim cluster's sun dies taking the relay with it." Shepard theorized.

"Very true, there's also one other thing." The Illusive Man said as a hologram of a large, green planet showed up next to him. "This is the planet Wreckasia, a typical Garden World within the Hawking ETA cluster, unspectacular in almost every way."

"Why are you bringing this up? Are you planning on building a Summer Home there?" Shepard asked.

"No, and if I did build one it would be on a Human Colony, the reason I bring this up is because a small band of Cerberus operatives discovered a derelict Reaper there." Shepard's eyes widened.

"What were they doing there in the first place?" Shepard asked.

"That's confidential I'm afraid, even to you." The Illusive Man said.

"Is it another project like the one that created Overlord?" Shepard asked remembering that day well.

"I told you it was confidential and I'm leaving it at that." The Illusive Man spat. "Whilst there they discovered a ship with the unmistakable design of a Reaper, almost as old as the one where you got the Reaper IFF from, I have no idea what killed the Reaper but according to the research team they found something that may prove vital in the battle against The Reapers."

"I'm going to be picking up a man who will develop a weapon that can take out a Reaper in one hit. I'm not interested." Shepard said as he went to walk away.

"What if I told you that they had found the secret behind the cycle of extinction?" Shepard's eyes narrowed as he turned around.

"Much as I hate to admit it you have my attention, what is it?" Shepard said.

"This is where things get complicated." The Illusive Man said.

"Don't tell me, you lost contact with them?" Shepard asked.

"Exactly and given what happened to the Alliance Science Team this is something that has me concerned." The Illusive Man said.

"I'll check it out but like the last time this isn't a favour for you, it's so I can discover the secret behind the Cycle Of Extinction." Shepard said cutting the communication. "Joker, do you have the coordinates?"

"Just got them Commander, want me to call another meeting?" Joker said.

"No, I'll explain it when we go to explore the wreckage, for now focus on getting us to the Citadel." Shepard commanded.

"Got it Commander, we'll be on the Citadel in 15 minutes give or take." Joker replied.

"Good, I'll be meeting Mrejius alone, everyone else is on four days shore leave until the miniaturized weapon is installed." Shepard said.

"YES!" Joker yelled and Shepard shook his head.

"Shepard, I want to talk to you about the miniaturized weapon." Shepard turned around and saw Tali.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"I know I technically have four days off but I want to assist Mrejius with installing the weapon." Tali said.

"Well you are one of the best engineers I've met; I'll explain to him that he'll have some assistance." Shepard said.

"Thank you Shepard." Tali said walking out, Shepard went to the elevator and travelled the CIC and went up to the bridge.

"Good timing Commander, we've just docked with the Citadel." Joker said.

"Good, I'll be heading out first, tell everyone that if they want me I'll be on the Presidium." Shepard said as he left the ship, he went to the rapid transit and to the Citadel Tower; it wasn't hard to locate Mrejius as he stood out from the crowd.

"Commander Shepard, at last we meet." Mrejius greeted.

"Hope you don't mind me skipping the pleasantries but how long will it take to have your weapon installed on the Normandy?" Shepard asked.

"Not at all, as for your question I estimate that it'll take four and a half days to complete it." Mrejius said. "There is a problem that you must know about though."

"I'm listening." Shepard said folding his arms.

"When I originally designed the weapon it could only be fired once, I have corrected that issue whilst miniaturizing the weapon but now it'll take 4 minutes to recharge after every shot, I couldn't fix that problem but I compensated by adding a homing device specifically designed to lock on to The Reapers, but there's also a fault with that." Mrejius explained.

"What's the problem?" Shepard asked.

"The Homing Device will have to be recharged as well; problem is that it'll take 5 minutes to recharge." Mrejius said.

"Good thing I have the best pilot in the galaxy at the helm, how does the weapon work exactly?" Shepard asked.

"Towards the beginning of the Reaper invasion there had been sightings of strange, invincible and hostile ships, which I now know are Reapers, I was commissioned by both the Krylkock and Trkackia elders to develop a countermeasure should the ships attack, the way it works is that it fires an extremely destructive beam that not only causes massive damage but also knocks out all electronic equipment inside." Mrejius said.

"_A Thanix Cannon and an EMP in one, that's impressive." _Shepard thought. "Okay, have the council briefed you on my crew members?" Shepard asked.

"I've been briefed on all of them Shepard, strengths, weaknesses, history, and that also includes you, must say that I was extremely impressed when I read about the Skillian Blitz." Mrejius said and Shepard smiled.

"I had no choice; everyone on that planet was counting on me holding that position." Shepard said.

"Something you speak so lowly off would've earned you great respect among my people if they were still around." Mrejius said.

"I'm honoured to here that." Shepard said.

"My people respected strength Shepard, even from those who weren't members of the Trkackia." Mrejius elaborated.

"Is that how you came into contact with the Krylkock?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, we found there methods primitive and savage but an alliance was formed, I even formed a friendship with one of the Krylkock elders, Sdres I believe his name was." Mrejius said.

"You'll be pleased to know that Sdres survived and is a member of my crew." Shepard said and Mrejius smiled.

"That is good news indeed." Mrejius said.

"Also one of my crewmembers wishes to help you install your weapon, the Quarian called Tali." Shepard said.

"Ah yes, based on what I've read in her file her expertise will be valuable." Mrejius said.

"And then I said "You think a damn Thrasher Maw's gonna keep me down" and fired a concussive blast right down that thing's throat before it had the chance to eat me!" A familiar voice rang out and they turned seeing Drakus, Grunt and Marcus talking.

"Telling old war stories Drakus?" Shepard asked the Krogan who looked up.

"Nah, that was just the story of my fights during my time on that uncharted planet I told you about, I haven't even gotten to the war stories yet!" Drakus chuckled. "I'm assuming this is the new guy we're picking up."

"Mrejius, this is Drakus, Grunt and Marcus, guys this is Mrejius." Shepard introduced them.

"This is the guy who developed the Reaper Destroyer? Doesn't look like much." Grunt said.

"Never judge a book by its cover I believe the human saying goes." Mrejius said after shaking their hands.

"What do you mean by Reaper Destroyer?" Shepard asked confused.

"A name the McKansa siblings came up with, it's appropriate and bad ass sounding so all the crewmembers has been calling it that." Drakus said with a chuckle.

"I don't care what it's called as long as it helps us against The Reapers." Marcus said folding his arms.

"Those are my sentiments exactly, Marcus." Shepard agreed.

"I actually feel the same way." Drakus added.

"All I know is that it will be a glorious battle." Grunt said pumping his fists.

"Indeed." Drakus agreed.

"Well now that you've met up with the new guy what are you going to do now?" Marcus asked.

"I'm taking him back to the Normandy were I'll give him a guided tour and allow him to start work on installing the weapon." Shepard said. "After that I'll file some paperwork to the council and I'll go down to the Dark Star Lounge."

"Maybe you can meet us there then, we're meeting Mordin and the rest of the crew for a round of Kareokie." Drakus suggested.

"Sounds fun, I'll meet you there." Shepard said before walking off with Mrejius.


	34. Return to Tuchanka

The four days shore leave came and went as did the Reaper Destroyer's installation, Mrejius had opted to help Mordin in the Tech Lab, and right now they were on their way to Tuchanka to work out a deal with Wrex regarding the Genophage cure, Shepard planned to bring the whole squad for this and the Migrant Fleet mission since it affected everyone.

"How will it be long until we reach Tuchanka Joker?" Shepard asked approaching the bridge.

"We're already in the Krogan DMZ commander; we should be on Tuchanka in twenty minutes time." Joker said.

"Good, tell everyone to meet me at the hanger when we land." Shepard commanded.

"Understood Commander." Joker replied.

"Shepard I have detected several none Krogan ships in orbit around Tuchanka." EDI said.

"None Krogan huh, is it the STG?" Shepard guessed that they would be there to keep an eye on the modified Genophage.

"No, the ship's signatures match those belonging to Cerberus." Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"What does Cerberus want with Tuchanka?" Shepard wondered out loud.

"You got me Commander; all I know is that it's probably bad news for the Krogan." Joker said. "They haven't seemed to have noticed us yet Commander, we're landing on Tuchanka now."

"Good, I'll be at the hanger waiting for everyone else." Shepard said walking off and twenty minutes later the crew members were on Tuchanka.

"First a city full of husks and now the Krogan Homeworld, why don't we go anywhere nice like the Galactic Core?" Jenny muttered and Shepard bit back a comment about his last trip to the Galactic Core.

"Hello again Commander Shepard, is the young human going to headbut anymore Krogan Ambassadors?" The Overcaptain greeted motioning to Jenny and Zach gave her a funny look.

"Yeah, but only if they piss me off." Jenny replied.

"Shame, the Krogans who made the breeding requests for you will be disappointed." The Over captain said and all colour drained from Jenny's face whilst Zach burst out laughing.

"You're kidding, right?" Jenny practically pleaded.

"Nope." The Overcaptain said simply.

"How many breeding requests where there?" Jenny asked with a sigh.

"20 at last count, and that's just the guys from Urdnot!" The Overcapyain said as Zach took a picture of the look on Jenny's face with his Onmi-Tool.

"Look as interesting, and traumatizing to Jenny, as this is we need to speak to Wrex." Drakus said and the Overcaptain let them through.

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that god knows how many Krogan have the hots for me or the fact that you found that you found that interesting." Jenny said to Drakus.

"You heard the Overcaptain, it was due to you head butting the Clesstet ambassador." Drakus said.

"Yeah but that doesn't make me feel any better about it." Jenny said before turning to Zach. "One word of this to dad and I'll castrate you in the slowest way possible." Jenny warned.

"My lips are sealed." Zach said quickly.

"And if he does I'll give you some ideas for his punishment." Drakus added.

"Oh great, a Krogan battlemaster's giving my sadistic sister ideas!" Zach said throwing his arms up.

"Come to think of it, when female Krogans find out that your Jenny's brother you'll have quite a few breeding requests coming your way as well." Drakus added and Zach's eyes widened.

"Gee, thanks Drakus, know I face the possibility of losing my virginity to a Krogan!" Zach said shuddering.

"Saying that outloud has probably doubled your chances." Drakus said and Zach just shook his head, they approached Wrex who smiled when he saw Shepard.

"Shepard."

"Wrex." Shepard greeted with a nod. "I got your message about the Genophage cure."

"Good, so what's the progress?" Wrex asked.

"The cure is years away from being complete and even if we complete it for all we know the Reaper invasion might have already started." Shepard said.

"Fair point, so why did you come here?" Wrex asked.

"We were hoping to work out a deal, some other way we can help the Krogan in exchange for their support." Shepard said.

"Well there's always that young human on your crew..." Wrex started.

"HELL NO!" Jenny said.

"Okay, that's her out of the question." Wrex said. "There is one thing though; a plague has been wrecking havoc on the Krogan population for the past two weeks."

"What can you tell me about it?" Shepard asked.

"So far it's been infecting the minor clans and wildlife only but it's only a matter of time before it starts infecting Urdnot and the other larger clans." Wrex said. "We have found one thing out, it was engineered."

"_Somehow I won't be surprised if this is tied to the Cerberus ships in orbit." _ Shepard thought. "If we help cure the plague will you help us against the Reapers?"

"You have my word." Wrex said. "And if you can get us an Embassy on the Citadel that will help as well." Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Why do you want an Embassy?" Shepard asked.

"Truth is the Krogans have grown a lot as a Species, Drakus being considered for the Spectres is a huge step forward for the Krogan and I've already opened up diplomatic relations with the Turians and the Elcor." Wrex explained. "Basically the Krogan are going nowhere but up and an Embassy on the Citadel will help a lot."

"Our top scientists, Mrejius, Mordin Solus and Dr. Chakwas will begin work on a cure as soon as we have a sample, I'll talk to the council about the Embassy." Shepard said.

"The smaller clans have been sending samples to our top scientist here, you may recognise him." Wrex said as a familiar Salarian stepped forward.

"Mealon?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, ever since you stopped my work on the Genophage I've been assisting Urdnot with the plague, I would've left but I had no way of getting of world as my ship was destroyed by a Thrasher Maw." Mealon explained.

"Do you have a sample for us to use?" Mrejius asked stepping forward, Wrex looked at him curiously.

"I don't recognise your race, a new council species?" Wrex asked.

"Try last of a previously extinct species, he's a survivor from the last Reaper attack." Shepard explained.

"Impressive." Wrex complemented. "Next thing you tell me will be that he's developed a weapon that can take out a Reaper in one hit."

"I have actually." Mrejius said.

"Shepard, remind me not to piss him off." Wrex said jokingly.

"Anyway, yes I have a sample for you, my only request is that I assist your science team in developing a cure, after all I've been working on it since the plague began." Mealon said.

"Makes sense I guess, Mordin is that okay with you?" Shepard asked.

"As long as there are no more experiments on living beings I won't object." Mordin said getting curious looks from Drakus and the McKansas.

"Of course not, I learned my lesson the first time around." Mealon said.

"Good, we'll head back to the Normandy but we'll stay in the cluster, contact me if there are any developments." Shepard told Wrex.

"I will, good to see you again Shepard." Wrex said and the crew left.


	35. Cerberus bites back

"YOU WANT US TO DO WHAT?" The Turian and Salarian Councillors said similtaneosly, Shepard was giving his report on the situation on Tuchanka and had just mentioned the fact that Wrex wants an embassy on the Citadel.

"Look, it's not like I'm asking for the impossible, you gave the Rachni an Embassy remember?" Shepard pointed out. "Besides it's that or we lose potentially valuable allies in the Reaper War."

"He has a point Councillors." Anderson said.

"I also agree with Shepard, the Krogan have come a long way since the Rachni wars and the Krogan Rebellions, didn't they open diplomatic relations with your species councillor?" The Asari councillor pointed out.

"That was different, Wrex was looking to heal old wounds on the Galactic scene and he's doing an excellent job at that but this? Why don't you ask us to make the modified Genophage project public whilst your at it?" The Salarian Councillor said.

"Maybe I should make the Turian councillors involvement in the death of Mirsali Mirani public as well?" Shepard countered and the Turian was clearly not expecting this.

"What are you talking about? We have the perpetrators in custody." The Turian councillor blurted out.

"Ah yes, "the perpetrators" the guys who carried out your dirty work, have you gotten around to dismissing that claim yet?" Shepard mocked. "They've ratted you out councillor, they'll testify that you gave the orders to kill him."

"THAT'S PROPOSTEROUS! Why would a respected politician like myself involve himself in murder?" The Turian Councillor said.

"He was blackmailing you about the embezzlement of funds, that's why." Shepard said. "At the moment I've convinced the officers on Palaven to rule the testimonies as inadmissible but with one phone call I can end your career and your free life."

"Fine, I'll make the proper arrangements, the Krogans will have a small embassy within 24 hours." The Turian councillor said as the councillors

"I didn't think you'd bring the fact up." Jenny commented, the meeting with the council had taken place during a meeting with the crew members save for Mordin and Mrejius who where still working on the cure for the plague.

"I didn't think go through with it." Zach commented.

"The Turian Councillor maybe a stubborn idiot but he's smart enough to know when to accept defeat." Shepard said. "Drakus, can you relay the message about the Embassy to Wrex?"

"I'm on it." Drakus said leaving the room.

"EDI, how's the cure for the plague coming along?" Shepard asked the AI.

"Quite well from what I have seen Shepard." EDI said. "Mealon's knowledge of the plague appears to be helping a great deal."

"Good, Joker is there any activity from the Cerberus ships?" Shepard asked.

"Good timing Commander, one of the ships wants to speak to you." Joker said and Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any idea what they want?" Shepard asked.

"Not a clue Commander, you'll have to ask them yourself." Joker said.

"Fine, patch them through." Shepard sighed wanting this over and done with, within minutes a tall, scarred man appeared on the screen.

"Identify yourself." Shepard demanded.

"Not whilst those vermin are in the room." The man said motioning to the Alien crewmembers.

"_He's a Xenophobe, why am I not surprised?"_ Shepard thought. "They're my crew and you called in the middle of a meeting so they stay." The man gritted his teath.

"Fine, we want you to cease all attempts at curing the plague." The man said.

"Not happening." Shepard said firmly.

"Funny you should say that." The man said as another Cerberus operative came forward dragging along a tied up Gillian.

"GILLIAN!" Paul said angrily. "I left her at that orphanage you bastards."

"We know, all we had to do was threaten the lives of every other brat at that place and they handed her over." The man said.

"If you hurt one hair on her head I swear to god you'll suffer." Paul said glaring daggers at the man.

"Relax, she's unharmed, for the moment, but if we see your ship go towards Tuchanka then we'll kill her." The man replied before cutting off.

"What do you plan to do about it?" Drakus asked as he had just come back in.

"We'll split into four teams of three and attack each ship individually, Drakus, Paul, your with me, Marcus take the McKansas with you, Tidoses, Garrus and Sidonis you three are teaming up and finally Ashley take Grunt and Tali with you." The team members nodded. "Joker, how many Cerberus ships are there?"

"Four at last count Commander." Joker said.

"How did Cerberus find out about our efforts to cure the plague anyway?" Jenny wondered outloud.

"Bugs." Shepard said simply. "We destroyed most of them but we must've missed them in the Tech Lab, I'll have Mordin and Mrejius be on the lookout for bugs and listening devices."

"And destroy any that they find." Drakus summarized.

"Exactly." Shepard said.

"What about the rest of us Commander?" Jacob asked.

"You're staying here in case they decide to try to attack the Normandy, our main objective is to look for any evidence that Cerberus is behind the plague and rescue Gillian." Shepard said.

"Do you have any idea what ship those bastards are keeping her on?" Jenny asked.

"No, this is why we're attacking the ships at the same time." Shepard said.

"Better chance at finding Gillian." Drakus guessed.

"Yes, we'll take the shuttles to the ships and board them keep in radio contact with me and eliminate all operatives on board the ships, if you can't find Gillian Joker will blow the ships up with the Thanix Cannons but not before you make sure that the evidence has been retrieved." Shepard said.

"And not before we leave the ship obviously." Drakus chimed in.

"Right, you guys have your assignments let's go!" Shepard said leading the teams to the hanger, they got in the shuttles and travelled to the ships and Shepard's team reached their ship first.

"Didn't you hire the Blue Suns to keep Gillian safe?" Drakus asked.

"Yes and I have no idea how these bastards got past them." Paul said as they entered the ship, the hallways were narrow and some TV screens littered the halls, suddenly the screens turned on and The Illusive Man showed up.

"Well, well, The Illusive Man, why am I not surprised?" Shepard said folding his arms.

"We're doing everything in our power to stop the Reapers Shepard and Gillian maybe our best chance at stopping them!" The Illusive Man said calmly.

"Gillian's a 14 year old Autistic Girl with Biotics, The Reapers are ancient sentient war ships who have been killing millions of species over the years, and how the hell does THAT help humanity." Drakus demanded.

"I wouldn't expect a Krogan to understand..."

"Look you piece of Vorcha shit, I've been alive for ten of your lifetimes and I am more intelligent than most of the Krogan on my homeworld, don't insult me." Drakus growled.

"I'll admit, that is a fair point, this plague we've infected the Krogan with maybe vital for Humanity's expansion, we can't let you cure it." The Illusive Man stated.

"So you kidnapped a fourteen year old girl to keep us from curing it, you know what I'll make all of this public when I'm accepted into the Specters and the positive image that Shepard cooked up for you bastards will go to waste." Drakus said.

"You won't be able to prove it, I'm extremely thorough when it comes to covering my tracks." The Illusive Man stated.

"Doesn't matter, neither you nor your thugs will get away with this, we can guarantee that!" Drakus said and The Illusive Man cut off communication.

"I've never heard you so angry before." Shepard pointed out.

"Let's just say that I take the exploitation of children, no matter what the species, very seriously." Drakus said. "That piece of shit is lucky that he's nowhere near our location."

"Shepard, me and the McKansas have arrived at our ship only to get a video conference with The Illusive Man." Marcus said over the radio.

"Same thing happened to us." Tidoses said.

"What they said." Ashley said.

"The Illusive Man was expecting us, we need to do a thorough scan for any remaining bugs on the Normandy when we get back." Shepard said.

"Shepard, it's Mrejius, we got your message and we've halted work on the plague cure in order to locate the remaining bugs, they were easily found and destroyed." Mrejius said.

"We've also double checked every nook and cranny, no bugs remain." Mordin chimed in, in his usual quick manner.

"Tell the rest of the crew to scour the Normandy for bugs, The Illusive Man was expecting us." Shepard ordered.

"Troubling information, will relay message right away." Mordin said in his usual quick manner.

"Make sure that no bugs remain, even if it means checking the restrooms and my quarters." Shepard ordered.

"Will do Shepard, we shall see you when you return." Mrejius said before hanging up.

"Is he always that chatty?" Drakus asked.

"You don't know the half of it, come on let's find Gillian and the evidence." Shepard said and the two crewmembers followed him.


	36. Old friends talk and a battle

"Found one." Dsrondo said crushing the bug with the palm of his hand, he and Zeead was checking Shepard's quarters whilst he and the others were on the ship.

"That makes ten we've found and we haven't even searched the other half of the room." Zeead commented dryly.

"I'll give this Illusive Man credit, he's thorough." Dsrondo said standing up. "So what have you been up to since Vido kicked you out of the Blue Suns?"

"What the bloody hell does that have to do with anything?" Zeead asked.

"I'm just trying to make conversation." Dsrondo said with a shrug.

"I've been chasing down lead after lead after lead on Vido whilst accepting jobs from the wealthiest bastards in the known galaxy." Zeead said grimly. "What about you?"

"I've been avoiding the attention of Mcsdes whilst going on vacation to Omega, The Persius Veil, and Earth." Dsrondo said with a smirk.

"Ah yeah, Vakerian's old captain." Zeead remembered. "He has to be the worst bounty hunter ever!"

"Don't you mean the worst and the most persistent bounty hunter?" Dsrondo corrected.

"True, not even I would pay the Persius Veil a visit no matter how much my bounty was worth!" Zeead chuckled.

"I went there because I thought he wasn't stupid, guess I was wrong." Dsrondo chuckled.

"Why wouldn't I be surprised if the only reason he was a captain in the first place was due to nepotism?" Zeead chuckled as he found another bug and smashed it with his rifel.

"If Garrus was here he'd probably agree." Dsrondo agreed.

"If Garrus was here he'd start talking about Reach and Flexibility." Dsrondo shook his head. "Can't help but feel sorry for Jenny." Zeead immediately knew what he was talking about.

"If that was me, well let's just say that thoughts of Krogans fucking me would be haunting my nightmares for the rest of my life." Zeead said. "And don't even start on the amount of Krogans."

"I bet she regrets head butting that ambassador." Dsrondo chuckled.

"You should've been there, the sight of a 5ft 5, 145ibs injured woman head butting a Krogan for all the shit the Krogan had put her through was one of the funniest thing's I've ever seen." Zeead chuckled. "Never mind the fact that she's a damn good biotic and a pretty good marksman."

"I watched the vids, I was laughing my ass off throughout." Dsrondo chuckled. "Even more reason not to piss her off."

"She's a feisty one, that's for sure." Zeead agreed. "How her parents put up with her is anyone's guess." Zeead said as they moved to the other half of the personal quarters.

"What about Zach? He's no saint himself." Dsrondo commented as he checked the fish tank.

"Those two combined would've driven the average man to insanity in less than 20 minutes, never mind their criminal records." Zeead smirked.

"In case you've forgotten Jenny was just a small time crook and Zach wasn't even that high in the Eclipse totem pole." Dsrondo said.

"True enough, by the way I don't think The Illusive Man would put a bug in a bloody fishtank." Zeead said.

"Most people would say that most humans wouldn't even consider accepting a Batarian into the ranks of their crew and yet here I am." Dsrondo chuckled.

"Yeah, but you where handpicked by the Council." Zeead pointed out.

"Yeah, only after I contacted them." Dsrondo corrected him.

"Oh yeah, after the Blue Suns failed Slave Raid on Mindoir, aren't you one of the few Batarians who hates Slavers." Zeead said smashing a bug beneath his foot.

"Not few, many." Dsrondo said catching Zeead of guard.

"Then why aren't the Batarians against Slavery more vocal?" Zeead wondered.

"Why do you think? Slavery's so etched into Batarian culture that we'd risk a long prison sentence just for flipping off a Slaver, even if he wasn't doing his job, that and the majority of them are on the homeworld." Dsrondo said smashing another bug.

"I see your point." Zeead admitted.

"Hey Zeead, I found a bug but I need your help to get it." Dsrondo said after a few minutes.

"Why's that?" Zeead asked walking over, Dsrondo pointed to the top of the tank and Zeead nodded. "I'll see if there's anything in here you can use to reach it." Zeead said looking around before grabbing a desk and putting it next to the Fishtank.

"That should do it." Zeead said calmly before checking the area near Shepard's terminal. "Surprise, surprise, he has a picture of Williams on his desk."

"They're in love, why wouldn't there be one." Dsrondo shrugged before smashing the bug with a punch.

"I'll give him credit, he's got a hot girlfriend." Zeead muttered.

"I wouldn't know, human females don't do anything for me." Dsrondo said stepping off the desk.

"What about Asari?" Zeead asked.

"Same." Dsrondo dismissed.

"Look at that, the sneaky bastard put a bug behind the picture of Williams." Zeead said picking up the bug and smashing it against the desk.

"You'd think Shepard would've noticed it by now." Dsrondo commented.

"I think he was too busy being stalked by Miranda and Tali." Zeead joked.

"Tell me about it." Dsrondo said shaking his head.

"Come to think of it you never talk much about your personal life." Zeead said.

"Don't have one, my stepson's a terrorist and my wife was killed during the Skillian Blitz." Dsrondo shrugged and Zeead looked at him in surprise.

"And yet you follow Shepard, the hero of the Skillian Blitz?" Zeead asked perplexed.

"Yeah, I know how odd it sounds, truth is that neither I nor my wife got along, things where great at first but then she signed up as a Registered Slaver, things where downhill from there." Dsrondo said.

"Yeah I guess your...wait, registered slaver?" Zeead asked.

"Another example of how morally bankrupt the Batarian government is, slavery is so etched into Batarian culture that anyone who wants to become a slaver has to register with the government, it has it's perks." Dsrondo said.

"Like what?" Zeead asked destroying another bug.

"Pay is a million credits per captured slave, yearly, you have an easier time enrolling in the Batarian military if you're a Registered Slaver, you get a nice bonus upon retirement, provided you live that long, if you don't then the Bonus goes to the surviving family members unless a family member killed you, then the whole family gets life imprisonment." Dsrondo said.

"Makes sense, wait did you say the WHOLE family?" Zeead asked.

"Yet another example of how morally bankrupt the Batarian government is, according to Batarian law if a family member kills a slaver to get the bonus then the whole family can be held responsible, no matter how young or how old you are." Dsrondo said destroying another bug.

"And people wonder why Batarians are hated so much." Zeead shook his head.

"Yeah, the Krogans during the rebellions make us look like a race full of saints." Dsrondo shook his head. "I think that's all the bugs in here."

"Yeah, I can't see any more bugs." Zeead agreed.

"Mordin will scan the room later in case we missed any." Dsrondo shrugged.

"True enough, so what know?" Zeead asked.

"We let the Commander know, what else?" Dsrondo said putting a hand to his earpiece. "Commander, your personal quarters are clear of bugs."

"Good to know Dsrondo." Shepard replied.

"We're not sure if we got everything but Mordin said he'd scan the rooms later to be sure." Dsrondo added.

"Good, just be out of my quarters by the time I get back." Shepard said.

"Got it." Dsrondo said with a shrug though he knew the Commander couldn't see him. "How are things on the ship?"

"No hostiles yet but knowing Cerberus I'm bound to bump into them at some point." Shepard said.

"Guess we'll see you when you get back." Dsrondo said as the Commander hung up.

*meanwhile, with Shepard's squad*

"At least you and Ashley will have some privacy now." Drakus said dryly.

"That doesn't matter Drakus and quite frankly it's none of your buisines." Shepard replied before putting a hand to his earpiece. "EDI, do you still have access to Cerberus files?"

"Yes Shepard." EDI said.

"See if you can find ships that match the descriptions of the ships we're attacking in Cerberus databases and if you can look for a map of some kind." Shepard ordered, considering the ships where quite small he doubted that they had more than one floor.

"Searching Cerberus databases now." EDI Replied. "I have found the four ships in question, they belong to the BioFuture cell of Cerberus and the ship your on is the main one which is captained by Armiston Banes." EDI said and Shepard did a double take.

"Armiston Banes, are you serious?" Shepard asked.

"Of course Shepard, is there something wrong?" EDI asked.

"Armiston Banes has been dead for years." Shepard said.

"It could be an Alias." Drakus suggested.

"Then again he was blackmailing Chloe Michel on the Citadel due to her past, after he had passed away." Shepard said.

"So he faked his death." Drakus suggested. "What's the story on this Banes guy?"

"Shortly after I became a Specter I stopped by Chloe Michel's hospital on the Citadel wards so that injuries I had suffered during the attack on Chora's Den could be treated, only to find her being blackmailed by a Krogan, she directed us to a Salarian Merchant in the wards who claimed ignorance until the Krogan's arrival, I scarred him off and Chloe said that Banes might be behind the Blackmail scheme only when I went to Anderson for more information he told me that Bane's frozen body was found on a Derelict ship by Marines under the command of Admiral Kahoku." Shepard explained.

"What was he blackmailing her for?" Paul asked.

"Medical supplies, at the time it made no sense to me because he could of just as easily asked her for credits but if that was a Cerberus operation then maybe the medical supplies where for the BioFuture cell." Shepard said.

"What about the Salarian and the Krogan?" Drakus asked.

"Most likely they where nothing but middle men with no idea what was really going on." Shepard said. "EDI, what can you tell me about this BioFuture cell?"

"They are a part of Cerberus' Military Division specializing in augmentation of Biotic powers through no traditional methods, initially started as the project that created Subject Zero it has recently been revived, according to this they are co-operating with the Human Galaxy cell in developing and deploying an engineered virus on Tuchanka." EDI explained.

"And what can you tell me about the Human Galaxy cell?" Shepard asked.

"It is a recently formed cell within the science division devoted to hindering Alien races through scientific means." EDI said.

"What a surprise." Drakus said sarcastically, just then ten Cerberus operatives armed with Machine guns rounded the corner.

"Leave the ship and you won't get hurt." The leader, an Asian woman in her late twenties with a Military haircut, said.

"Not happening, show them how big a mistake they are making Drakus." Shepard said and the Krogan grinned. "Leave one alive though for interrogation."

"Oh this is going to be satisfying!" Drakus said narrowing his eyes.

"What can one Krogan do against ten operatives?" The leader pointed out.

"Well there's the fact that I'm a Battlemaster, served in the Rebellions, seen stuff that would've driven anyone else to insanity, need I go on?" Drakus said and the operatives' eyes widened.

"A BATTLEMASTER? Fuck it we don't get paid enough for this!" One of the operatives said turning to leave.

"When did I say anything about letting you live?" Drakus asked firing a shockwave sending the operatives flying, some snapped their necks upon landing and the less fortunate where put down by Drakus' shotgun, and Drakus stopped when he saw that the leader was the only one left. "Lucky for you we need you for interrogation."

"Like hell!" The leader of the squad said and seconds later she started to convulse before dying, Drakus and Shepard quickly figured out that she had swallowed a Cyanide Capsule with Shepard remembering what Mordin said about Cyanide capsules in Cerberus operative's dental work.

"Well, so much for interrogation." Drakus said dryly.

"Shepard it's Marcus, we've just cleared the ship and there's no sign of Gillian anywhere, we've got the research data and we're heading back to the Normandy." Marcus said.

"You get any information from the operatives?" Shepard asked.

"No, they committed suicide before we could interrogate them." Marcus replied.

"The operative we interrogated on Eden Prime didn't do that." Shepard remembered.

"That must've been low on the priority metre compared to this." Drakus said.

"Come on, we've got the rest of the ship to check out, Marcus when you and the McKansas return to the Normandy assist in the search for bugs we missed the first time." Shepard said.

"Understood, see you on the Normandy." Marcus said before cutting off.


	37. Questions

Shepard, Drakus and Paul rounded the corner on the Cerberus ship, they had only met a handful of Cerberus operatives since their first encounter and every time they tried interrogating a survivor the survivor chose suicide rather than reveal what he/she knew, right now they were facing a hallway with a row of rooms on one side of the hall.

"Shepard, it's Tidoses, our ship is clear and there is no sign of Gillian, we have retrieved the evidence and we are returning to the Normandy." Tidoses told him over the earpiece.

"Thank you Tidoses, when you return to the Normandy assist the others in searching for bugs." Shepard ordered.

"Understood, see you on the Normandy." Tidoses said.

"Shepard, Mordin here, tech lab clear of bugs, moving on to the Armoury with Mrejius." Mordin said in his usual quick manner.

"Thanks Mordin." Shepard said.

"The more ships get cleared the more obvious it is that this is where there keeping Gillian." Drakus said.

"Let's not jump to conclusions, Ashley's team has yet to clear they're ship." Shepard replied. "Drakus, check the rooms for any operatives, if there are any kill them." Shepard ordered.

"Right and what if there are more hostages?" Drakus asked.

"Free them and see what they know." Shepard ordered.

"Got it." Drakus said moving onto the first room and peeking in through a window on the door, Drakus' eyes narrowed. "Found a scientist, probably from the Human Galaxy cell, he's experimenting on new born Krogan." Drakus said with clear disgust in his voice, he stepped back and kicked open the door and the scientist looked up and panicked.

"Please no! I can explain." The scientist said quickly surrendering upon seeing a pissed off Krogan battlemaster, Drakus went to fire his shotgun but Shepard stopped him.

"I understand your anger Drakus but he surrendered." Shepard said and Drakus grumbled.

"You're lucky that Shepard's here." Drakus said. "And you had better have a damn good reason why I shouldn't kill you for experimenting on new born whelps."

"I swear to god I'm not doing this by choice! Originally I was working on a Genophage cure but Cerberus kidnapped me and forced me to experiment on new born Krogan." The scientist explained.

"How many have you experimented on and what where the experiments?" Drakus said his anger subsided for the moment knowing that the scientist wasn't doing this by choice.

"How do you know it's Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"I've...had dealings with them in the past." The scientist said.

"In other words you're a former Cerberus operative." Drakus said and the scientist shook his head.

"No, I worked on a project that was funded by Cerberus without my knowledge, when I found out I quit on the spot." The scientist said.

"What do you mean by funded by Cerberus, did you work for one of the front companies?" Shepard asked.

"I didn't realize it until now obviously but yes." The scientist said.

"We'll get you out off here." Drakus said.

"No, you don't understand, if I don't do any work for more than ten minutes I..." The scientist was suddenly mowed down by a hail of machinegun gunfire, they looked around for the killer but no one was in the hallway accept them, it was then that Drakus noticed something.

"Commander, over here, I've found the culprit." Drakus said and Shepard walked over and saw a security camera with an electronic timer and a mini turret attached.

"Whoever is in charge of the security cameras must have some way of keeping track of time, when ten minutes passed without work by the hostage he flips the switch..."

"And the poor bastard gets shot full of lead." Drakus finished for him. "If we see any cameras like this in the other rooms we'll need to destroy them first."

"Pity that we don't have anyone with us that's good with tech." Paul said.

"Well there's always the option of blowing them up." Drakus said. "First I need to check on the whelp the scientist was experimenting on." Drakus said walking over and sighed regretfully. "He was caught by a stray bullet to the head, never had a chance."

"Any idea what he was working on?" Paul asked.

"You're asking the wrong Krogan, my area of expertise is combat not science!" Drakus said.

"Good point, I'll have Mordin conduct an Autopsy when we return to the Normandy." Shepard said.

"From the look of it the experiments where internal, he's under anestetic and he's got surgical cuts all over him." Drakus said rubbing his chin.

"Commander, we've got a problem." Jacob said over the earpiece.

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"I had a closer look at some off the bugs Mordin and Mrejius found in the tech lab, I recognised the design but they weren't made by Cerberus." Jacob said.

"What do you mean they weren't made by Cerberus?" Shepard asked.

"They were made by the Alliance." Jacob said.


	38. Putting down Hades' dog

"Are you sure?" Shepard asked shocked.

"I have a friend who used to work in Espionage Commander; I contacted him asking him to confirm my suspicions and he said that if they are a forgery than the forger's a damn good one." Jacob replied.

"Where did you find the Alliance bugs?" Shepard asked.

"First set was found when Mordin double checked your quarters, another three sets where found at the Forward Batteries, Engineering and the tech lab." Jacob said and Shepard frowned.

"Those areas where upgraded when we visited the Citadel and second time, that must've been when the bugs where planted." Shepard theorized.

"Makes sense, but why would they spy on you?" Jacob asked.

"That's what I intend to find out, patch me through to Joker." Shepard said.

"You got it Commander." Jacob said.

"Hey Commander, what's up?" Joker asked.

"When we're done here plot a course for the Citadel, I want a word with Anderson." Shepard ordered.

"Got it Commander, you want me to take you there as soon as you come back from your third trip to Tuchanka?" Joker asked.

"Exactly, I want to get to the bottom of this." Shepard said.

"I'll contact my old Commanding officer Commander; see if he knows anything about this." Jacob added.

"Ask Marcus to look into it as well, with his experience he probably has some friends in the Alliance brass that owe him a favour." Drakus suggested.

"Good call Drakus; I'll ask him about it." Jacob said before hanging up.

"So what's on the agenda now?" Paul asked.

"We'll pick up the dead new born Krogan on the way out, we still have other rooms to search and keep an eye out for the Turret Cameras." Shepard said.

"Got it Commander." Drakus said moving on to the next cell. "More Krogan but they are much older, at estimate I'd say they're about a year from the right."

"You mean the Right of Passage?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, how do you know about that?" Drakus asked.

"The favour I did for Grunt was his Right of Passage." Shepard explained.

"Ah yeah, I remember hearing about how a tank born with a human and a Turian as his Krant killed the Thrasher Maw, thanks." Drakus said.

"Thanks, for what exactly?" Shepard asked.

"For the events that led to me having the Best Thrasher Steaks I've ever had." Drakus chuckled before he opened the door and the Krogan, six in total, looked up.

"Battlemaster?" The Krogan nearest the group looked up, Drakus narrowed his eyes.

"Is there something wrong?" Shepard asked.

"I recognise some of these whelps, the others on the other hand I don't." Drakus explained.

"You mean they're from a different clan?" Shepard asked and Drakus shook his head.

"Not sure, for all I know they could be Tankbred." Drakus said before turning to the Krogan. "What clan do you belong too whelp?"

"Not clan member, I was bred and rose by glass mother four night cycles ago." The Krogan nearest the group said.

"Night cycles? These Krogan are only days old?" Paul said.

"Explains the broken English but not their size, for four day old Krogan they're almost as big as I am." Drakus said.

"Weird buzzing noise compels me to attack." The Krogan nearest them said drawing his shotgun but Drakus was quicker on the draw and took the Krogan's head off with his shotgun; Paul and Shepard put the others down just as quickly.

"Tankbred Krogan apparently indoctrinated, what the hell is Cerberus up too?" Drakus said holstering his weapon.

"This must be part of the Human Galaxy Cell's operation." Shepard reasoned. "My guess is that they were to be dropped off on Tuchanka once they were ready and wipe out the Krogan population should the plague fail."

"They were nowhere near ready enough." Drakus said.

"I think that was the point, I think they are recreating Dr. Okeer's experiments." Shepard said.

"They same experiments that gave us Grunt?" Drakus asked and Shepard nodded.

"These Krogan must've been failures, however Okeer had Collector technology at his disposal and Cerberus doesn't." Shepard elaborated.

"Are you certain?" Drakus asked.

"By destroying the Collector base I destroyed Cerberus's one chance at getting their hands on Collector Technology." Shepard replied. "Come on, we've got one more room to check before we explore the rest of the ship." Shepard said and they followed him out.

"Shepard, it's Ashley, we've just cleared our ship, no sign of Gillian and we've got the evidence." Ashley's voice rang out over the earpiece.

"Good, when you return to the Normandy assist the others in the search for bugs." Shepard ordered.

"Got it Commander, I'll see you when you get back." Ashley said before hanging up.

"Looks like I was right." Drakus commented.

"We'll have to wait and see before confirming that." Shepard said approaching the last door where a young blonde woman was being held captive, Drakus opened the door and the woman looked up.

"What do you want?" The woman asked.

"I want to save your sorry ass!" Drakus said.

"Kahlee?" Paul recognised her.

"Paul, what are you doing here?" The young woman said recognising him.

"You two know each other?" Drakus asked.

"We met in the past." Kahlee said folding her arms.

"As Drakus said so gentlemanly, we're here to save you." Shepard said.

"Finally, you'd think with the connections my father has in the Alliance I would've been rescued sooner." Kahlee said.

"You're father? Who's he?" Drakus asked.

"He's none other than John Grissom." She replied.

"You mean the war hero?" Drakus asked.

"That's right, how do you know about him?" Kahlee asked the Krogan.

"I make a habit out of keeping myself informed on Galactic events." Drakus said with a shrug. "I even know about the events that the general public aren't supposed to know."

"Then you're a security risk." Kahlee said.

"That habit is the main reason I've been alive as long as I have." Drakus said defensively.

"That's enough, both of you." Shepard said getting between the two soldiers. "Do you have any idea what they want with you Kahlee?"

"Not a clue, one minute I'm relaxing in my apartment on the Citadel the next minute some Cerberus operatives gas the room and before I get the chance to defend myself I'm out cold." Kahlee explained.

"We're getting you out of here." Shepard said.

"Not going to be easy." Kahlee said pointing towards the area above the doorway, Drakus looked up and saw another Turret camera, he got his shotgun out and turned on Incendiary rounds and fired twice destroying the Turret camera. "Not exactly the most graceful solution but it works." Kahlee shrugged.

"The day that Krogans are known for being graceful is the day that Balak gets accepted into the Council Specters." Drakus shrugged.

"Touché." Kahlee admitted.

"I'll admit that you're not the reason that we came here Kahlee but any rescued hostage is better than none." Shepard said.

"True, wait there's other hostages on the ship?" Kahlee asked.

"They kidnapped Gillian and tried using her as a bargaining chip." Paul said.

"Those bastards." Kahlee said angrily.

"We're here to rescue her and cure the plague that's infecting my people." Drakus elaborated.

"Then maybe I can help." Kahlee said walking out of the room.

"Look lady, we have no idea what they have in store for us, we don't need a civilian dragging us down." Drakus said.

"Really? Paul why don't you tell them about how I made it too Fire Lieutenant before quitting the Alliance." Kahlee said.

"Because of your daddy's influence." Drakus said and Kahlee glared at him.

"I made it clear to my father that I wanted to earn my position in the Alliance thank you very much." Kahlee snapped.

"So you got to that position on your own skills, so why did you quit?" Shepard asked.

"That's a long, touchy story that's none of your business." Kahlee said calmly.

"Okay, do you know where the bridge is?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, I was dragged there when I arrived, follow me," Kahlee said leading them down the hall; they reached a large door with two Cerberus operatives standing guard.

"Freeze, not another step!" The Cerberus operatives ordered but where put down for their troubles by simultaneous gunshots by Shepard and Drakus.

"What the hell was that? A voice that Shepard recognised as the scarred man who contacted the Normandy asked from the other side of the door.

"Drakus, show him." Shepard said and Drakus grinned before opening the door and the four soldiers pointed their guns at the Cerberus operatives.

"We meet at last Banes." Shepard said catching the scarred man's attention.

"How did you know that?" He demanded.

"Being a former Cerberus operative that still has access to Cerberus Databases helps." Shepard said.

"You have a lot to answer for, experimenting on New Born Krogan, Tankbreeding and indoctrinating Krogan, kidnapping an innocent girl..." Drakus started.

"All towards building humanities future!" Banes cut him off.

"You make me sick!" Drakus growled.

"Good, something you and I have in common." Banes said calmly. "Open fire men!"

Drakus, Paul, Kahlee and Shepard took cover as the men opened fire, Drakus fired a shockwave when the men had to reload their weapons leaving them open to gunfire from Shepard, Kahlee and Paul to gun them down, with the other operatives down they approached Banes with their guns drawn.

"Tell us where Gillian is and we'll let you live long enough to stand trial for your crimes." Shepard said.

"Why should I tell you?" Banes asked spitting on Drakus who pulled him to his feet.

"Don't piss me off any more than you already have." Drakus warned.

"Or what?" Banes asked.

"Or I'll use every torture technique I know off to make your life hell, and I know a lot of torture techniques." Drakus said.

"And don't think we won't join in." Shepard was quick to add before Banes could use his xenophobia to attack Drakus.

"Fine, you see that control panel over there?" Banes said motioning to the panel. "Gillian is being held in an invisible cell in this room, one button will set her free, the other will blow this ship to smithereens."

"Why the hell do you have such a button?" Drakus asked.

"Backup plan for events such as this." Banes replied.

"Let me make things clear to you, you push the button that releases Gillian or I'll cut your balls of and give them to Drakus!" Paul said pointing his gun at Banes' head.

"Fine, if you insist, I didn't that brat anymore anyway." Banes muttered as he went to the control panel Shepard and his squad keeping an eye on him, Banes pressed a button and a cell appeared in place of one of the walls and it opened and Gillian ran to Paul, it was then that Banes hit the other button.

"What did you just do?" Shepard asked.

"Sealed your fates. In ten minutes this ship will be blown to smithereens, hope you've enjoyed your little reunion." Banes said and Drakus took his head off with the shotgun, they noticed an airlock nearby.

"JOKER! Bring the Normandy to our location on the double, the ships about to self destruct, EDI, download any data you can before the ship blows up." Shepard ordered running to the Airlock with the others.

"Got it Commander, we'll be ASAP!" Joker said.

"Of course Commander." EDI replied to her order, with two minute to spare they got on the Normandy and fled away from the ship just in time as the ship exploded.

"Had us worried there Commander." Joker admitted. "Who's the blonde?"

"Kahlee Sanders, she was another hostage on the Cerberus ship." Shepard said. "EDI, what data where you able to retrieve."

"Over a hundred files but they were all using advanced encryption; it'll take some time to decrypt it." EDI said.

"Have the files decrypted by the time we reach the Migrant Fleet at the latest." Shepard ordered.

"Of course Commander." EDI said before logging him out.

"Shepard, excellent timing, ship clear of bugs and plague cured, just need to distribute it around Tuchanka." Mordin said running up.

"Excellent, what's the quickest way you can get the cure around Tuchanka?" Shepard asked.

"I can have the Chief Scot distribute the cure via his scouts, given how many he has under his command he'll have it done in 24 hours." Mealon said.

"Right, Mealon go down to Tuchanka and distribute the plague cure and contact us when you're done." Shepard ordered.

"Will do Commander." Mealon said.

"I'll escort him down to Tuchanka with the cure Commander." Jacob said.

"You sure Jenny doesn't want to come down with you?" Joker joked only to get a death glare from Jenny. "Shutting up now."

"See you when we get back Commander, I'll also let you know whether or not we get the Krogan's alliance in the Reaper war." Jacob said before walking off.


	39. Answers

"Commander, we've just landed on the Citadel, you taking anyone with you?" Joker told Shepard as he approached the bridge, with the plague cured and Cerberus's activities in the Krogan DMZ crippled they had made going back to the Citadel a priority so that they could get to the bottom of the Alliance bugs.

"No, everyone has the day of whilst I get to the bottom of this, I don't want someone like the McKansas being dragged down in politics." Shepard said.

"Fair enough, Commander." Joker shrugged.

"Shepard." Shepard turned around and saw Drakus approach them.

"How are you feeling after what you saw on the ship?" Shepard asked.

"I watched my friends and family die over the years, I had to find out the hard way that my own son was a damn snitch, but seeing whelps die before they even knew what race they belonged to, it almost makes me wish I stayed on Tuchanka." Drakus said.

"I'm glad you didn't." Shepard said.

"I can't argue with that." Drakus said.

"Do me a favour and relay this message to the others, they have the day off until I get to the bottom of the Alliance bugs." Shepard instructed.

"I shall Commander." Drakus said and Shepard left the Normandy and saw a familiar face.

"Commander Shepard, I wasn't expecting to see you so soon." Udina said raising an eyebrow.

"I'm not in the mood Udina." Shepard snapped at the ambassador catching Udina of guard.

"Maybe I can help?" Udina offered and Shepard scoffed.

"The man who ruined everything I said when I died offering his help? You'll excuse me for not taking your word for it." Shepard said angrily.

"I understand your scepticism Commander." Udina admitted.

"Then you know to get out of my damn way." Shepard said and Udina obliged, he took the Rapid Transit and travelled to the Human Embassy and stormed in.

"Shepard, what can I do for you?" Anderson asked.

"You can explain why my crew found Alliance issue bugs in the areas that the Alliance Science team upgraded whilst we talked at the Embassy lounge." Shepard said and Anderson's eyes widened.

"I had no idea about that." Anderson admitted.

"Really? As much as I'd like to believe you let's not forget that you where the one that commissioned the upgrades in the first place." Shepard pointed out.

"I commissioned those upgrades to help you and your crew when the time came for the Reaper's Invasion. I'll look into it because I never gave the order to plant Alliance listening divices on the Normandy." Anderson said.

"Do you have any idea why they would plant bugs?" Shepard asked finally accepting that Anderson had nothing to do with it.

"I can't say for certain, maybe someone in the Alliance thought that you where a Cerberus double agent and had those bugs planted behind my back." Anderson said.

"That's absurd and you know it, I only worked with Cerberus because they were the only ones doing anything about The Collector attacks." Shepard said angrily.

"I understand Shepard but the problem is no one knows that but you, myself and your crew and I only learned about that just now." Anderson replied.

"On another topic maybe Udina did it, you said it yourself that he never got over the fact that you where chosen over him." Shepard suggested, just then the door opened and Drakus strolled in.

"Shepard, we have a problem." Drakus said before noticing Anderson. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Don't worry Drakus, this isn't an official meeting." Anderson said. "What's the problem?"

"A council Spectre is hanging around the Normandy, and I'm not talking about Tidoses." Drakus said.

"What's this Spectre doing that caused you to come all the way here?" Shepard asked.

"She's been asking the crewmembers about Shepard's affiliation with Cerberus and has even tried interrogating us." Drakus said.

"I never heard of a Spectre being told to investigate Shepard." Anderson said.

"How did the crewmembers react?" Shepard asked.

"She got a middle finger from Jack, the McKansas refused to talk to her once she brought up there past, I told her to fuck off, Marcus and Ashley also refused to talk to her, don't know about the rest of the crew." Drakus said.

"Was that really the way to talk to a potential future ally Drakus?" Anderson asked.

"She had the nerve to insult my race to me and Grunt's faces councillor, you'd be offended as well." Drakus defended.

"Okay, fair enough, did this Spectre give a name?" Anderson asked.

"I believe she identified herself as Ciroah, she was an Asari, quite young, most likely still in her Maiden years." Drakus remembered and Anderson went over to his computer and typed in the information.

"This maybe who you just described, Ciroah Mtoka, 102 years old, accepted into the Council spectres three years ago, currently the youngest serving Asari in the Spectres, served in a Commando unit before she was accepted into the Spectres." Anderson said turning the screen around.

"Yeah, that's her, anything about her current assignment?" Drakus asked.

"Nothing I'm afraid." Anderson said turning the console around.

"Do you feel the need to tell everyone my life's story Anderson?" Shepard and Drakus turned around and saw Ciroah. "You must be Commander Shepard; it's an honour to meet you." The Asari went for a handshake but Shepard crossed his arms. "Have I offended?"

"Let's see, you where caught snooping around my ship, interrogated several of my crewmembers, offended Drakus here and thought it was a good idea to ask about my past history with Cerberus." Shepard said. "So yes, you have offended."

"I apologize; my sole intention was to get to know the crew I was going to be working with." Ciroah noticed the confused looks on Drakus and Shepard's faces. "You weren't informed, where you?"

"I apologize for not telling you Commander, the council thought you could use another Spectre on board and I thought you wouldn't be on the Citadel for another few days." Anderson admitted. "In fact I was just preparing her dossier when you arrived."

"I can see the council's reasoning and the reason why you weren't able to inform me sooner but what are her skills?" Shepard asked.

"They are as follows; exceptionally skilled biotic, even by Asari standards, expert marksmen, years of experience and a sharp mind." Anderson explained. "She also intends to tutor some of the less experienced members of your crew in Biotics, when applicable, and combat."

"In other words he means the McKansa siblings, Grunt and Paul Grayson." Drakus added.

"I have read the report on all four of those soldiers and I see exceptionally large potential in all of them." Ciroah added.

"Due to your actions they won't be so quick to trust you, you do realize that right?" Shepard asked.

"Of course I do Commander but I do hope to gain their trust, gaining it will be vital to this mission after all." Ciroah said. "And Drakus, I apologize if my comments towards your race made you angry."

"That's it, just like that?" Drakus asked suspiciously.

"I am quick to realize where I have been of fault and if I am to mend any burned bridges I may as well start with you." Ciroah admitted.

"You'll excuse me if I'm not so quick to accept your apology." Drakus said.

"That's perfectly understandable." Ciroah admitted. "So when do I meet the rest of the crew?"

"They've been given the day off whilst I investigate why the Alliance was spying on me, though now that I think about it it's convenient that you show up just as I discover the Alliance bugs on my ship." Shepard said.

"I can see how bad this looks but you are the only human I've worked with, just ask Anderson if you don't believe me." Ciroah said and Shepard turned to Anderson.

"She's telling the truth Commander, she operated in Asari space prior to becoming a Spectre agent and after that she's mostly been working in Asari, Turian, and Krogan and Salarian space and not once has she worked with a human on any of those missions." Anderson confirmed.

"I take she's had no contact with the Alliance either." Shepard asked and Anderson nodded.

"So how do you plan on introducing her to the others?" Drakus asked Shepard.

"I'll call a meeting tomorrow once shore leave's over and introduce her then, Ciroah can you get to the Normandy before they wake up and find a place to stay without waking them up, I don't want a confrontation on my ship?" Shepard replied before asking Ciroah.

"Do you have any particular place in mind?" Ciroah asked.

"The conference room which is where I hold the crew meetings, when there isn't a meeting it's unoccupied unless I'm talking to someone and don't worry I'll try to be the first in the conference room so that I can explain the situation." Shepard explained. "Drakus let Grunt know in advance encase he can't make it." Shepard ordered the Krogan.

"Of course Commander, what will I tell the rest of the crew in the meantime?" Drakus asked.

"Tell them that I'm taking care of it and that they shouldn't let one bad experience ruin their day off." Shepard answered.

"Right, well my business here is concluded; see you back on the Normandy Shepard." Drakus said turning around and walking out the door.

"He's certainly interesting." Ciroah said out loud.

"What do you mean by that?" Shepard asked.

"I'm an excellent judge of character Shepard and I find Drakus intriguing." Ciroah said.

"How so?" Shepard asked.

"His voice and body language tells me that he has seen horrors that would drive anyone with a lesser mind to insanity and yet he leads a normal life but at the same time he is very wise and acts as a mentor to those that are younger than him." Ciroah said and Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"_That sounds like something the Asari consort would say."_ Shepard thought. "And you can do that through brief encounters?"

"Yes." Ciroah said and Shepard decided to test this.

"What about the McKansa siblings?" Shepard asked.

"They are hot-headed and stubborn but at the same time they wish to atone for their past sins, and whilst they may bicker and argue they care for each other as only a brother and sister can and it's because of these traits that there potential as soldiers is limitless." Ciroah said.

"Wait, how do you know about their criminal records?" Shepard asked suspiciously.

"I was briefed on all of your crewmembers." Ciroah said simply.

"Okay, what where you able to learn from Dsrondo Batalic then?" Shepard asked.

"He is disgusted with the actions of his own people and he wishes to shun the stereotypical image that burdens his people, whilst he has done many wrongs himself his heat is in the right place and wants to make a difference in the Universe." Ciroah said.

"That's enough for know, Ciroah if you don't mind I want to speak to Councillor Anderson in private." Shepard asked.

"I'll wait outside." Ciroah said before leaving the embassy.

"She's certainly wise beyond her years." Shepard observed.

"Indeed, that was the driving force that got the Council to accept her." Anderson agreed. "Look Shepard I know your ship is getting cramped but let's be honest, you'll practically need an army in preparation for the Reaper War."

"I appreciate the help, but what I don't appreciate is finding Alliance bugs on my ship." Shepard said.

"Rest assured Shepard I'll get to the bottom of this and whoever authorized it will be put on Death Row." Shepard looked surprised.

"That's a bit extreme isn't it?" Shepard asked.

"Spying on a Council Spectre is akin to Treason and is punishable by death, even if the person spying believes that the Spectre has gone rogue." Anderson explained.

"What if that person was right about the Spectre going rogue?" Shepard asked.

"If that happens then the Spectre in question is stripped of his position and is forced to stand trial, if the spy is willing he/she can testify against the Spectre is exchange for freedom if not..."

"Then he gets the Death Penalty." Shepard finished for him. "Has this ever happened before?"

"No, though there have been plenty of movies about it, we almost charged Tali with that crime two years ago truth be told but since she got the recording from a deactivated Geth no charges were filed." Anderson explained.

"Good, I would've needed her for my crew." Shepard said. "Keep me notified of any developments in the investigation."

"Off course, Shepard there's one more thing." Anderson said.

"Yes?" Shepard asked.

"That data you sent to the Alliance after busting the Eclipse operation in the Omega system, regarding Cerberus, part of it's been deciphered and it's revealed some troubling information." Anderson said.

"Like what?" Shepard asked.

"That a high ranking official in the Alliance is a double agent for Cerberus." Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"I won't be surprised if that and the Alliance bugs are connected, any idea who the official is?" Shepard asked and Anderson shook his head.

"No, but as soon as I find out I'll let you know personally." Anderson said and Shepard left the Embassy.


	40. Dealing With The Shadow Broker

Shore leave had come and gone and to Ciroah's credit she was able to keep a low profile on board the Normandy, eventually the time for the meeting came and everyone was in the conference room waiting for Shepard, the doors opened and Shepard stepped in.

"For starters, Anderson was just as surprised as I was when I told him about the Alliance bugs and he has assured me that he'll look into it." Shepard said. "Not only that but it may be tied to new information regarding a high ranking official in the Alliance being a Cerberus double agent."

"Five credits says that it's the man in charge of the boot camp I was trained at." Jenny was quick to add.

"You're only saying that because he hated your guts." Marcus replied and Shepard chuckled.

"We don't know who the double agent is yet so don't make bets on which Alliance member it is!" Shepard said.

"Besides that sis, you spent all your credits on new CDS!" Zack quickly pointed out and Jenny glared at him.

"That's not all; I understand that you all had an encounter with an Asari Spectre agent." Shepard said and everyone except Drakus and Legion groaned.

"Don't even get me started on her; she was trying to find out information on us that, quite frankly, was none of her damn business." Zach said annoyed and Drakus got his Onmi-Tool ready to take a picture of the look on his face, everyone else agreed with Zach.

"I don't have any way to sugar-coat this but please welcome the newest crewmember." Ciroah stepped in and everyone else looked shocked, Drakus on the other hand was satisfied with the picture of the look on Zach's face he had taken.

"What the hell? I thought Drakus said you'd take care of it Shepard?" Dsrondo was quick to ask.

"I understand your confusion, in fact I was just as confused as you where but Ciroah was selected as the newest crewmember by the Council and me storming into his office caused Anderson to not have enough time to send me her Dossier." Shepard explained.

"It's convenient that she shows up just as we find out about the Alliance Bugs." Ashley was quick to point out and the other crewmembers agreed.

"I pointed out the same thing Ash but Ciroah said, and Anderson subsequently confirmed, that this is her first time working with humanity, including the Alliance." There were still a few suspicious murmurs among the crewmembers but the majority seemed to agree that she was innocent. "Ciroah, where do you want to be stationed for the meantime?"

"I believe the Armoury will be a good place for me." Ciroah said and Jacob, Marcus, Ashley and Sidonis' eyes narrowed.

"Thanks but we have enough personal in the Armoury as it is!" Marcus spoke up.

"If you worried about my capabilities Marcus don't be, I am an expert marksman and through my time as an Asari Commando and a Spectre agent I am familiar with most guns and upgrades." Ciroah said and Shepard chuckled when he saw Jenny playfully elbow Zach for apparently imagining Ciroah in an Asari Commando uniform the big goofy grin on his face giving him away.

"If you're as good as you say you are I guess you can help us in the Armoury just don't expect us to trust you right away." Ashley said and Marcus, Sidonis and Jacob agreed.

"I'd be disappointed if I could earn your trust that easily." Ciroah admitted before leaving and everyone's eyes fell on Shepard.

"Look I know this isn't going to be easy..." Shepard started.

"Understatement of the fucking century." The McKansa siblings said simultaneously already knowing where Shepard was going with this.

"But I need you all to get along with Ciroah, I know she rubbed you the wrong way but her skills will be an asset to the team." Shepard finished.

"We do not doubt that Commander, but her way of introducing herself rubbed all of us the wrong way, especially Drakus." Jacob replied.

"So I heard, if anyone has any difficulty with her don't hesitate to tell me." Shepard said.

"We will, what's our next step?" Dsrondo asked.

"For now our business on the Citadel is concluded, our next stop is Noveria as we're going there as a favour to Liara." Shepard said. "That reminds me, Jacob, Marcus, did you manage to find anything out about the bugs?" They shook their heads.

"My old commanding officer didn't know anything about it Commander." Jacob said.

"I'm still trying to remember which member of the Alliance Brass has access to this information and owes me a favour." Marcus admitted.

"Thanks for trying Jacob, Marcus soon as you get the information stop by my quarters." Shepard ordered.

"No problem Commander." Jacob said with a salute.

"I will Commander." Marcus said.

"That's all, dismissed." Shepard said and the crew left the room Shepard keeping a close eye on them encase they decided to confront Ciroah, thankfully no one did but Shepard knew that tensions where high.

"Commander, we're orbiting Noveria now, by the way did you know that when I said I wanted a vacation here that I was joking?" Joker said.

"Yes, I know you where joking, anyway have Sidonis and Liara meet me at the hanger when we land." Shepard ordered.

"I will Commander." Joker said and twenty minutes later they were on Noveria and just like last time they got a nice friendly greeting from Noveria's resident security force.

"Well, look who the cat dragged in." A Turian with black scales, presumably the replacement for the late Karira Sterling said. "Here to cause more trouble for Noveria Shepard?"

"As fun as that is I'm here on Spectre business, I contacted Gianna Parasini in advance." Shepard said folding his arms and the Turian turned to a Krogan guard.

"Check up on that." He ordered and the Krogan nodded and walked off, ten minutes later he returned. "Well?"

"He speaks the truth." The Krogan said and the Turian and the other guard, a human male, reluctantly holstered there weapons,

"I'm glad to see that this didn't have to come to violence." Shepard said and the Turian scoffed.

"Any repeats of your last visit and I assure you that there will be violence and you won't walk away." The Turian guard said as he and the Krogan left but the human stayed.

"Sorry about that, I was under orders, Liara Matsuo is still waiting for you in the bar." The Human said.

"Thank you Jake." Liara said with a nod and the human left.

"Is he another agent of yours?" Shepard asked.

"Like I said before, I have plenty of agents." Liara said as they walked through the reception area and where greeted by Parasini.

"Shepard, good to see you again," Parasini greeted.

"Likewise, who was the Turian?" Shepard asked.

"Merrolor Mckonta, former C-Sec agent who got recruited shortly after your last visit to Noveria." Parasini said. "Are you here to see the new Administrator?"

"No actually, we're meeting Matsuo at the bar." Parasini's eyes narrowed. "Is there something wrong?"

"She's on administrative leave do to selling Norveria's secrets to the Councill, why do you want to see her?" Parasini asked.

"Spectre business, I was told to meet her at the Bar." Shepard said before whispering the next part. "Liara's the real reason, isn't she?"

"Should've known that the official reason wouldn't fool you, the board is worried that she's sold corporate secrets to Liara." Parasini said.

"She never did such a thing." Liara was quick to point out.

"Don't look at me, blame corporate paranoia." Parasini said. "She was tricked into revealing her affiliation with Liara to the new Administrator and despite repeated assertions to the contrary she was put on leave for selling secrets."

"You think she's innocent?" Sidonis asked.

"I've known her for a long time; she wouldn't trade secrets even if it meant that her life would end." Parasini said.

"Good to know, last I heard she's in the bar where we found Lorik during our last trip here, she still there?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, she's been there since she was put on leave." Parasini said and they left the reception area and went up in the Elevator and went up to the bar, they looked around and found Matsuo sitting at a table and walked over.

"Liara, it's good to see you again." Matsuo said with a smile.

"I'm sorry that our affiliation got you suspended." Liara apologized.

"You heard about that huh? Don't worry about it, once the board realizes that I never sold you Noveria's secrets I'll be back to work." Matsuo dismissed before turning to Shepard. "Let me guess, more Geth sightings?"

"No, I'm actually assisting Liara." Shepard replied and Matsuo's attention turned to Sidonis almost immediately.

"If that's the case then your Turian friend can't come with us." Sidonis looked shocked.

"What? Why?" Sidonis asked eventually.

"He was spotted talking to a known Shadow Broker agent and my sources confirmed that he was doing business with him, it's a little thing called Conflict Of Interest." Matsuo said plainly.

"What was your business with the Shadow Broker agent?" Shepard asked turning to Sidonis who sighed.

"It's...its how I found out about Fade's release from Prison and what he was up to." Sidonis admitted.

"I could've contacted Liara and had her look that up for you." Shepard said.

"I know but the Shadow Broker's services where more affordable." Sidonis said.

"I could've covered the cost for you." Shepard said.

"I would've done it for free actually since you're a member of Shepard's squad." Liara added and Sidonis got defensive.

"Why are you getting on my case? Your acting like I intentionally tracked down a known terrorist and aligned myself with him but no! All I intended to do was get some information from an information broker!" Sidonis said.

"Sidonis..." Shepard started.

"Not to mention the fact that you used his services when you where to convict Saren two years ago." Sidonis cut him off.

"Sidonis that was different, Barla Von gave me that information for free due to the circumstances surrounding it, the reason I'm getting on your case is that the Shadow Broker almost sold my body to the Collectors!" Shepard said and Sidonis' eyes widened.

"I didn't know..."Sidonis started.

"Up until know only me and Liara knew about this, go back to the Normandy and send Drakus in your place." Shepard ordered.

"Of course Shepard, I'll be in the armoury." Sidonis said walking off and ten minutes later Drakus joined them.

"Shepard, you certainly know how to make my life interesting, killing the Turian and Krogan guard was a lot of fun." Drakus greeted.

"Was that necessary?" Shepard asked.

"They wouldn't have let me on Noveria otherwise." Drakus shrugged.

"Follow me, I'll get the three of you into the garage, I have a garage pass ready for the three of you." Matsuo said handing over the passes to the three of you.

"How'd you get your hands on these? I thought you were on leave." Shepard asked.

"The new administrator owes me a couple of favours, these where the result of one of those favours being called in." Matsuo said.

"Right, guess we'll see you when we get back." Shepard said as he, Drakus and Liara made their way to the Garage.


	41. Back to Peek 15

As they entered the garage Shepard and Liara looked around suspiciously expecting more Geth to attack them like they did during their last trip to Noveria, thankfully for them there were no Geth.

"What's got you two so worked up?" Drakus asked.

"What's got us so worked up is the fact that during our last trip here we were attacked by Geth." Shepard explained.

"Huh, guess I'd be paranoid too." Drakus shrugged.

"Joker, send the Hammerhead down." Shepard ordered.

"Aye, aye Commander, it should be there in ten minutes." Joker said and ten minutes later the Hammerhead was waiting for them outside, they got in without hesitation.

"What's the point of this? I can stand the cold!" Drakus said as he got in.

"There's a blizzard outside and whilst I'm sure that a Krogan battlemaster will stick out like a sore thumb out here in Noveria we don't want to get lost in the storm, that and the Hammerhead will be much faster." Shepard answered.

"That's fair enough." Drakus admitted.

"Not to mention the fact that we don't know if there's any left over Geth from our last visit." Liara added.

"I thought you said you rewrote the heretics." Drakus pointed out.

"Unfortunately that doesn't necessarily apply to isolated units of Geth, we may run into some Geth that are still worshipping the Reapers but they will most likely be small, isolated fractions." Shepard explained.

"And you didn't say this before because?" Drakus asked.

"Because I didn't think it was important." Shepard said.

"I agree then, the Heretics will just be an insignificant threat if that's true." Drakus said as Shepard started up the Hammerhead and flew it towards the Peak 15 facility as Liara filled Drakus in on the details on the way over, they eventually reached the facility and got out of the Hammerhead and entered the facility which was long abandoned, still Shepard, Liara and Drakus drew their weapons to be on the safe side.

"Looks deserted." Drakus muttered.

"It isn't, according to Matsuo some of the Shadow Broker's agents are holding a friend of mine here." Liara told him.

"They sure picked a good spot to hide him, no one in their right minds would come here, well except us obviously." Drakus replied getting a chuckle from Liara and Shepard.

"Did Matsuo say where they were keeping your friend?" Shepard asked.

"No, but I suppose we'll find out soon enough." Liara answered.

"So in other words we're walking through this facility with no idea where your friend and who else is here?" Drakus summarized.

"That's it in a nutshell." Liara admitted.

"This sounds fun." Drakus said with a grin.

"I think you've been hanging around Grunt too long." Shepard pointed out as they entered the elevator they took during their previous visit.

"Possibly." Drakus joked, the elevator reached its destination and they went straight to the main facility and saw a small group of armed Turians.

"Who goes there, friend or foe?" The lead Turian, a barefaced Turian, ordered.

"Where's Feron?" Liara demanded.

"You really think we're going to give away such information?" The Turian laughed along with the others,

"You won't be laughing for long!" Shepard warned.

"Oh, and what do you intend to do about it Shepard?" The Turian demanded.

"How do you know my name?" Shepard demanded once he got over his initial surprise.

"All agents of the Shadow Broker should know you Shepard, first you deny us access to the information you found on Cerberus two years ago and then your Asari friend costs us Collector Technology by giving your body to Cerberus." The Turian explained.

"Wait, what?" Drakus asked confused for once.

"It's a long story Drakus, I'll tell you later." Shepard said. "You have one option, give us Feron's location..."

"Or what?" The Turian demanded as the other Turians readied they're weapons.

"Or you'll have to deal with my Krogan buddy here." Shepard said.

"That's the best you got? Pathetic, how you got into the Spectres is beyond..." The Turian started.

"Is this a good time to tell you that I'm a Battlemaster and a Biotic?" Drakus interrupted them and the Turians panicked. "What do you think Commander, should I tell them what happened to the last Shadow Broker agents I encountered?"

"Please do." Shepard grinned.

"The where disembowelled alive with their body parts spread across Tuchanka." Drakus said and the Turians panicked. "You have two options, tell us where we can find Liara's friend or meet the same fate."

"He's...he's in the restricted area but he won't last long, he's endured two long years of torture and yet he won't reveal what he knows." The Turian said.

"Drakus, go with Liara and rescue Feron, I'll stay here and make sure they don't get any ideas." Shepard said and the Asari and the Krogan left.

"That was a bad choice Shepard, your outnumbered ten to one." The Turian said, his mandibles indicating a grin, Shepard got out the Blackstorm. "What's that?"

"This is the Blackstorm Projector, a weapon of mine that was especially designed for the Spectres, would you mind telling me if you are familiar with the Singularity biotic ability?" The Turians looked confused.

"Yes, why do you ask?" The Turian eventually asked.

"This weapon fires an Artificial Version of the ability, only when it collapses it pulls you in and kills you; do you really want to mess with someone with this weapon?" The Turians gulped.

"That's a very good point." The Turian eventually admitted.

"Commander, we've found him...why are you pointing the Blackstorm at these bastards?" Drakus asked as he, Liara and an unconscious Drell Shepard didn't recognise rounded the corner with Drakus carrying the Drell over his shoulder.

"This is my way of keeping them in line." Shepard answered holstering the weapon. "If you follow us they'll be hell to pay, I hope you realize that." Shepard told the Turians.

"We'll be dead for letting the Drell get away anyway." The lead Turian said nonchalantly drawing his weapon as did the others however Shepard and Liara where faster on the draw and gunned down most of them, Drakus used his biotics to finish of the rest of them.

"If I had known they were going to do that I would've killed them anyway." Shepard admitted.

"There were thugs Shepard, they where only loyal to their next paycheck." Drakus shrugged. "What now?"

"We'll head back to the Normandy and have Chakwas examine Feron, after that we're heading to the Migrant Fleet." Shepard said, they returned to the main building of Noveria and as soon as they returned to the Garage they were greeted by a Squad of Cerberus agents led by Matsuo.

"What's the meaning of this?" Liara demanded.

"Sorry Liara but the board was right about me selling secrets, only not to you." Matsuo said.

"You sold Noveria's secrets to Cerberus." Shepard quickly realized.

"And Liara's." Matsuo was quick to add.

"Another incident involving Cerberus, we should do this more often." Drakus said sarcastically.

"The Illusive Man was displeased when he found out that Cerberus' activities in the Krogan DMZ where crippled." Matsuo said ignoring Drakus' sarcasm. "He gave me orders to kill you and your companions."

"Then why wait this long?" Shepard asked.

"To lure you into a false sense of security, of course you could surrender right now and save us the ammo, after all your outnumbered 15 to 3." Matsuo said as Shepard got out the Blackstorm. "What's that?"

"This is your worst nightmare." Shepard said and Liara and Drakus didn't need to be told to get to cover as Shepard started charging up the weapon, the operatives eventually realized that it was a weapon but by then it was too late as Shepard fired the singularity and the operatives where all caught in it, Shepard got behind cover the moment he realized that it was about the go off and just like that the singularity exploded taking waking the operatives and Matsuo with it.

"That your answer to everything Shepard?" Drakus asked getting out of cover.

"Yes, but only when it's clear that we're outnumbered." Shepard answered holstering the Blackstorm.

"And you didn't use it during our last fight with Cerberus because?" Drakus asked.

"The ship was too crowded, there was no way we could've avoided the singularity." Shepard answered as the doors opened and a squad of ERCS Soldiers entered.

"We heard an explosion in here, what happened?" The leader of the squad, a Salarian, asked.

"Captain Matsuo was a Cerberus double agent and she was selling Noveria's secrets to Cerberus, I recorded her confession via my onmi-tool if you want proof." Shepard said playing the recording.

"We had a feeling she was selling Noveria's secrets to someone, but we weren't sure who it was." Parasini said stepping forward.

"You knew?" Drakus asked.

"Not for certain, we needed proof and you provided it!" Parasini said. "Pity you had to kill her, if you had waited a few minutes we'd have captured Matsuo and her cronies."

"Looks like I need to find myself a new agent." Liara muttered.

"Worry about that on the Normandy, we're out of here." Shepard said as he, Drakus and Liara left the garage.


	42. Curing a whole race

"Joker, plot a course for the Migrant Fleet's coordinates." Shepard told the pilot the moment he, Drakus, the still unconscious Feron and Liara returned to the Normandy, the trip back had gone off without a hitch despite some odd looks Drakus was getting. "Drakus get Feron to the medbay."

"I will do Commander." Drakus said walking off with Feron over his shoulder and entering the elevator.

"Understood Commander, ETA is two days." Joker said as they left Noveria.

"Kelly, any messages for me?" Shepard asked walking up to his assistant.

"Yes, and I think you'll want to see this one." Kelly said.

"Thanks Kelly." Shepard said.

"Shepard, I'll be in the medbay with Feron if you need me." Liara said before heading down to the elevator and Shepard checked the e-mail, it was from the council and apparently the Far Rim cluster's sun had died before the Reapers could use it, it was good news but Shepard knew that they had a backup plan, he went to the tech lab next.

"Mrejius, have any problems been reported with the Reaper Destroyer?" Shepard asked.

"No, why do you ask?" Mrejius asked looking up from a datapad he was looking at.

"I believe that the Reapers will be here soon and..."

"You'll need the Reaper Destroyer at full strength, I understand." Mrejius said. "By the way me and Mordin have been developing something that Tali will find extremely interesting to say the very least."

"What do you mean?" Tali said entering the room.

"Device only at prototype stages at the moment, no guarantee that it'll work as the only way to test it is to test it on a living Quarien." Mordin said in his usual quick manor and Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you where against tests on living subjects?" Shepard asked.

"He is, as am I, but this is an acceptable exception, it's a device that will slowly but surely boost a Quarien's immune system until they are able to breathe without the assistance of his/her suit, we won't know for certain until we test it so it is a good thing we have a Quarien on board." Mrejius explained and Shepard didn't need to see through Tali's mask to know that she was shocked by this.

"Keelah, there aren't enough words to describe how thankful I am for your help Mrejius." Mordin cleared his throat. "And you as well Mordin, how does it work exactly?"

"We based it on the Immune system boosters that your people use in "private times"." Mrejius said and Shepard and Tali quickly caught on to what he meant. "Only whilst those only last a few hours at best these are more permanent."

"How will you get it to affect Tali and by extension the rest of the Quarien race?" Shepard asked.

"Well it's simple really; all we need to do is install it on your suit, which will require you taking it off." Tali folded her arms at Mrejius. "Now, now, no need for you to get offended you won't have to get changed in front of us or the rest of the crew, unfortunately the only room we can think of that's suitable for this task is the Women's Bathroom."

"Okay, a couple of questions." Shepard said.

"We're always open for input Commander." Mrejius said.

"Number 1: why not my quarters, they're only used by me most of the time." Shepard said.

"Considered that, but quickly shot it down once we realized how unhappy Ashley would be if she found out." Mordin replied in his usual quick manner.

"Good point; I don't like the idea of sleeping on the couch just for helping a friend." Shepard admitted. "What about the AI Core? Only Legion and EDI are in there."

"Well what if an injured member of the crew got curious and looked, especially if said member is a male." Mrejius said.

"Good point." Shepard said.

"That and there's no way in hell I'm getting changed in front of a Geth, even if it is Legion." Tali said.

"What about the men's...wait that'll have the same problem." Shepard quickly realised.

"That and I don't know if you noticed but the men's bathroom reeks." Tali pointed out.

"What will I tell the Female members of the crew when they want to use the bathroom and find you two outside it?" Shepard said and judging from there expressions this was something they hadn't considered.

"We could say that we're doing it for Tali, no wait that'll make us look even worse." Mrejius said.

"I have a suggestion, tell them that this is more important than any bathroom break as it concerns my people...Keelah that wins the award for the last thing I ever expected to say regarding the Fleet." Tali sad shaking her head.

"I guess that'll work, better than you two being labelled as perverts with a scat fetish." The three aliens looked at Shepard funny. "You REALLY don't want to know the details, let's just say it involves people enjoying a bathroom break a little too well."

"Your right, I don't want to know the details." Tali said shuddering.

"Finally, if Tali's outside of her suit then she'll get ill, aren't you worried about that?" Shepard asked.

"We considered that whilst designing it actually, we designed it so that the installation would only take two minutes at the most." Mrejius said.

"Not counting the time it takes for you to remove the suit naturally." Mordin added.

"Also once the process is complete there's the option of surgically implanting it encase it only works on the suit." Mrejius said. "In the meantime we can install the device whenever your ready."

"I'm ready now." Tali said folding her arms.

"Then to the women's bathroom we go and why do I get the feeling that a woman has overheard that last part without knowing the context of it?" Mrejius said.

"You're wrong, two women have heard it." Ashley said as she and Ciroah entered the tech lab.

"I'll let you two explain it." Shepard said quickly leaving the tech lab and entering the elevator, he took the elevator down already imagining Mordin and Mrejius trying to awkwardly explain what they meant by that but that'd have to wait, he got off at the crew's quarters and saw Paul at the mess hall table and walked over.

"Hello Shepard." Paul greeted.

"Hi Paul, were you able to find another orphanage for Gillian?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah, found one on the Citadel and I don't think Cerberus will be stupid enough to try to kidnap her again, just to be sure I've had Irrasius' merc band keep an eye on her." Paul said, the last part surprising Shepard.

"I'm guessing that the Blue Suns weren't at fault in Gillian's kidnapping." Shepard assumed and Paul nodded.

"Turns out the human guards that Irrasius posted where double agents for Cerberus, that's how the kidnappers got past them." Paul explained. "Makes me wish I had you contact your friends in the Alliance." Paul admitted.

"Don't worry about it, you couldn't have known that in advance." Shepard reassured him. "How's been your experience with Ciroah?"

"I was suspicious of her at first but we're getting along, she's even been training me, the McKansas and Grunt in combat and, in the case of the McKansas, biotics." Paul said. "Most of the crew still distrusts her Commander and with good reason."

"So I heard." Shepard nodded noticing that Mordin had taken up position in front of the women's bathroom telling him that the device's installation was about to begin and apparently he wasn't the only one to notice it.

"Why is Mordin hanging around the Women's Bathroom?" Jenny wondered out loud as she walked past Shepard.

"He's experimenting, wait that came out wrong; he's developed a device with Mrejius to help Tali with her, and the Quarien race in general, with her immune system." Shepard explained.

"And that involves the women's bathroom, why?" Jenny asked raising an eyebrow.

"Installing the device requires Tali to take off her suit and they decided that the women's bathroom was the best place for her to get out of the suit." Shepard explained getting the feeling he'd be repeating that explanation a lot.

"Uh huh, maybe my brother should use that excuse the next time he gets caught watching the girls shower." Jenny said.

"Why do I get the feeling that wasn't a joke?" Shepard, Paul and Rupert asked at the same time.

"Because it wasn't, I swear Ashley was going to castrate him when she found out." Jenny chuckled.

"And luckily for my manhood that didn't happen." Zach said walking up. "Why is Mordin hanging around the women's bathroom?" Shepard sighed and repeated the explanation.

"How did you persuade her to not castrate you then?" Rupert asked as he cleaned some dishes.

"I pointed out that no man should die a virgin." Everyone laughed at that. "I'm serious." Everyone stopped laughing.

"It's sad when you can use your virginity to get out of trouble kid." Drakus said walking out of the medbay. "Is that Mordin hanging around the Women's bathroom?"Shepard repeated the explanation.

"How's Liara's friend doing?" Shepard asked.

"In between some medical mumble jumbo that I couldn't wrap my head around I found out that he appears to be in a stable condition." Drakus replied. "He hasn't regained consciousness yet and I doubt the fact that I carried him around on my shoulder helped."

"Good to know that he's going to make it." Shepard said.

"Yeah, never saw the point of torture myself." Drakus said.

"I couldn't agree more Drakus." Zeead said walking up. "And can somebody please tell me why Mrejius and Mordin are hanging around the women's bathroom?" Shepard sighed and repeated the explanation.

"I swear if I have to repeat that explanation again I'll scream. And anyone who asks about it despite already knowing the answer will be cleaning the men's bathroom after Grunt has used it for the rest of their life." Shepard said noticing that the McKansas where going to say something in response to that.

"Spoil sport." Jenny muttered and Shepard chuckled.

"I try my best." Shepard shook his head.

"Well our business is complete Shepard, with no awkward conversations I hope." Mrejius said before noticing the odd stares. "It appears that I have spoken too soon."

"Well when two science geeks are seen hanging around the women's bathroom awkward conversations are bound to happen, quite frankly you should be thankful that Jack didn't come up here wanting to use the bathroom." Zeead said and Mrejius winced.

"Good point, I believe that what was left of me and Mordin would have to be scraped off the walls with a spatula." Mrejius replied.

"Okay, is Tali getting changed into her armour?" Shepard asked.

"She should be but for obvious reasons we're giving her some privacy." Mrejius said.

"Good to know, keep me informed of any developments." Shepard ordered.

"Of course Commander, for now we shall return to the Tech Lab, hopefully Ashley and Ciroah haven't been spreading rumours about us among the CIC." Mrejius said as he and Mordin returned to the elevator.

"_Personally I think spreading those kinds of rumours is something that Joker is more likely to do." _Shepard thought as he stood up and walked to the elevator and joined Mordin and Mrejius in the elevator.

"Will you be able to mass produce those devices for the whole Quarien Race?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, that's our next task actually, will prove challenging as we'll have to account for age, gender, prior medical conditions but like I said before I love challenges." Mordin said pressing the button for the CIC.

"You have approximately two days to get it done; I hope you can work fast." Shepard replied.

"Don't worry about us Commander." Mrejius said.

"Indeed, worry about the fleet's reaction to Legion's second visit instead." Mordin said.

I will, contact me when your done, I'll be in my quarters." Shepard ordered.

"Off course we will, Commander." Mrejius said as the two scientists got off at the CIC and Shepard continued up to his Quarters.


	43. Migrant Fleet

"Commander, we're about to dock with the Migrant Fleet, they've already verified that we're not an enemy." Joker said over the PA and Shepard stood up and went to the elevator, he hadn't emerged from his Quarters since leaving Noveria and like the last time he had Miranda forward any reports to him.

"Thanks Joker, tell everyone that they're coming with me on this mission." Shepard said.

"Do you say everyone? Even Legion?" Joker asked.

"Especially Legion, he's the reason we're coming here in the first place." Shepard answered as he entered the elevator and went down to the CIC, he met everyone at the hanger and once everyone had their helmets on they got on the Raya and like last time the presence of Legion in their party prompted an armed response from a squad of Quarian marines.

"Get that damn thing of my ship before..." The Quarian Commander started.

"Look, Legion is the messenger I mentioned in my message to the Admiralty Board; he has permission to be here, unless you want to risk their wrath." Tali and the commander grumbled under his breath before ordering the marines to stand down.

"What about the Batarian?" The Commander said.

"He's a member of my crew and since this mission affects my whole crew he's coming aboard." Shepard stated.

"Or what?" The Commander asked.

"Or I'll come over there and personally remove your helmets, gunfire be damned." Dsrondo replied.

"Fine, both Legion and the Batarian can come aboard." The commander said clearly not happy about this, "I hope for your sakes that what Tali said in her message is true." The Commander added before walking off.

"Charming." Jenny muttered.

"To be fair he's only fulfilling his duties as a marine." Marcus said.

"Come on, let's get to that meeting." Shepard ordered leading the crew through the narrow hallways, the only crew member that wasn't with them was Sdres due to his size but he had teleported ahead and had tried to make himself unnoticed, which had failed based on the fact that Shepard could hear the shocked the gasps from the Normandy.

"This meeting is brought to order." Admiral Raan said as Shepard and his crew entered the central chamber. "Blessed are the ancestors who kept us alive, sustained us and enabled us to reach this season, Keelah se'lai." The whole room echoed the last part.

"_One of these days I'm going to ask Tali what the phrase means."_ Shepard thought.

"This meeting was organised when Tali Zora vesNormandy sent the admiralty board a message regarding the homeword, with the members of her crew present now is the time for such a revelation, Tali?" Raan said and Tali stepped forward.

"First I'd like to introduce Dr. Mordin Solus and Mrejius who have some big news of their own." Tali said as the two scientists stepped forward.

"Thank you Tali, as I'm sure you're well aware the Quarians immune system is extremely weak, ever since myself and Mordin heard that this was to be the Normandy's next stop we have been working on a device that artificially boosts the immune system." Mrejius said and predictably this caused a shocked gasp from the crowd. "Tali is currently using the first version of the device and she has told me personally that it has been a great success."

"They speak the truth; I can now remove my helmet without the risk of dying." Tali added.

"Based on the success of the device that Tali has installed in her suit we began work right away on mass producing the device for the Quarian population, granted with only two days to work with it was challenging given limited time frame we had to work with but in the end we were able to duplicate the device with no foreseeable side effects." Mordin said in his usual quick manner. "If the user so wishes the option of surgical implantation is available but only once the immune system is at full strength, we don't want to risk death after all."

"Thank you Mordin and Mrejius, not only from the Admiralty board but from every member of the Quarian race." Raan thanked them.

"My pleasure." Mrejius said.

"Appreciate it." Mordin said as the two scientists returned to the sidelines.

"Now for the reason I originally called this meeting." Tali said. "Legion?"

Even more shocked gasps emerged from the crowd as Legion stepped forward. "SECURITY! Arrest that thing now!"

"This unit means no harm, it is here to deliver the news that the Geth are willing to give the Quarians back they're homeworld." Legion said and the whole room gasped.

"Why should we believe the word of a Geth?" One of the admirals whose name Shepard had forgotten said and Legion activated his Onmi-Tool.

"This unit anticipated such a response and has brought the relevant data, as the human saying goes, I've come prepared." Legion said as the Onmi-Tool showed the Quarian homeworld. "The Homeworld has outlived its usefulness to the Geth and as a result we have reached a conclusion, we will give back the homeworld, as you can see it has been unchanged since you where chased from it."

The other crewmembers found themselves drawn into the Hologram of the Quarian homeworld as well though in their case it had more to do with curiosity than coming to terms with the fact that they would be returning to the Homeworld and even the likes of Drakus had to admit that the planet's surface was beautiful.

"This unit asks that the Geth are given 24 hours galactic time to leave the homeworld as this will give Mordin and Mrejius enough time to install they're device into each and every one of your suits." Legion said and the admiralty board nodded in agreement and called an end to the meeting.

"_Got to wonder what's going through they're heads." _Jenny thought to herself as she watched the crowd disperse, whilst her only experience with Quarians was through her conversations with Tali she knew that these revelations meant a lot to these people.

"You're a member of Shepard's crew aren't you?" A Quarian voice asked and Jenny looked up.

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Jenny asked the Quarian.

"Worked with him during Tali's mission on Healstrum, I'm Kal'Reager." The Quarian introduced himself.

"Jenny McKansa, the airhead next to me is my brother Zach." She introduced herself. "What are your thoughts on all of this?"

"It's definitely something, not only will my immune system be repaired but I'll get to see the homeworld for the first time, it'll definitely take some time getting used to it." Reager said.

"Took me a while to get used to working on a ship truth be told, my time in the Alliance before meeting Shepard was spent on the Human Colony Mindoir." Jenny explained. "Before that I lived on Earth for most of my life."

"Whilst I can't relate to not living on a ship for all of your life I can see how jarring that would be for you." Reager admitted. "What brought you to the Alliance?"

"Shepard believe it or not, I was a gang member down on Earth until I was discovered by the Shepard Scholarship program, the rest is history." Jenny explained.

"What about Zach?" Reager asked.

"Well this "airhead" joined the Eclipse when Jenny was 16 and quit when his own Commander betrayed his squad." Zach said with a hint of sarcasm when referring to the airhead comment.

"Yeah, I'd be looking at a different career path after an experience like that as well, how'd you two find the Commander?" Reager said.

"Like I said before I was working for the Mindoir security force but that went to hell when the Blue Suns attempted a Slave Raid which also went to hell because I managed to get a distress beacon out alerting Shepard to the situation." Jenny replied.

"My story also involves the Blue Suns, they were running a major slave raid HQ and Shepard and his crew, which included Jenny coincidently enough, was originally there for Tidoses and he recruited us both after the aforementioned betrayal by my Commanding Officer." Zach said.

"Quite the coincidence, though I kind of wish I had joined Shepard's crew when I had the chance, ever since the mission on Healstrum I've been stuck here and whilst it's nice being around family and friends it gets boring after a while." Reager admitted. "Well anyway I'm going to get the Immune System thingy installed, nice talking with ya." Reager said walking off.

"Huh, who'd have thought a Geth would revitalize the race they chased from they're homeworld?" Drakus wondered out loud too Marcus.

"I don't know, who'd of thought I'd be working with three Spectre agents, two Spectre candidates, a Geth, a Batarian and the two last members of a long thought extinct race?" Marcus said with a grin.

"Touché, guess when you work with one Spectre you expect to see everything the universe has to offer, three though? Who knows?" Drakus shrugged.

"True enough, I can't get used to using this damn facemask all the time." Marcus admitted.

"Yeah, Sdres is lucky in that regard because his head's too big for any facemask to fit him, plus I think he's too big for any germs he's breathing to effect the Quarians." Drakus said.

"Not sure if germs work that way but hell like I said before, I always fell asleep in Science class." Marcus shrugged watching the Quarians eagerly await the installation of Mordin's device.

"And like I said to Shepard during the attack on Cerberus in the Krogan DMZ, if you're looking for a Krogan scientist I'm the last Krogan you should ask." Drakus said with a grin.

"Since when does that average space traveller look for Krogan scientists?" Marcus asked jokingly.

"True enough." Drakus admitted.

"Tell you the truth though; I'm considering retirement when this is all over." Marcus said earning a surprised look from the Krogan.

"Are you sure?" Drakus asked.

"Certain, I've lived a long life by human standards and I guess I can say I've lived a good one even if my son assisted in the murder of a cop, I got to see the Galaxy, work with a Spectre, positively influence Jenny's life and soon I'll be fighting the reaper fleet alongside Shepard, I guess what I'm saying is that I've seen it all and I want to live out the last years of my life on Earth." Marcus said.

"The Alliance will lose a fine soldier when that happens." Drakus said leaning against the wall. "What did you mean by positively influencing Jenny's life?"

"I was her first Commanding Officer not counting her N7 instructors and her gang leader, when she joined the Mindoir security force there wasn't a day that went by without her getting into a fight." Marcus said and Drakus chuckled.

"Sounds like a Krogan in Human skin." Drakus said using a variety on the "wolf in sheep's clothing" phrase.

"Problem is that we were supposed to work together as a team to defend Mindoir from any Colony attacks, just imagine how that looked to the Colonists." Marcus said and Drakus nodded.

"Yeah, they're so called protectors getting into fights with each other every other day of the week that couldn't of looked good for your Krant." Drakus said.

"Anyone else would've had her transferred somewhere else but I wanted to hear her side of the story, that's how I found out that her family name is no coincidence." Marcus said.

"I heard about that, her grandfather was forced to betray the Alliance during First Contact correct?" Drakus asked.

"Spot on, of course no one knew the part about him being forced to do it at the time and her family pride was getting in the way of her better judgement, I ordered her to start taking Anger Management classes daily and I positioned her away from the others until she had shown positive signs of improvement, unfortunately the Blue Suns' Slave Raid happened before they could even take significant effect on her, that and to give her valuable experience in protocol." Marcus said folding his arms. "She's not nearly as violent as she used to be, if Shepard had recruited us before they took effect Ashley's lights would've been punched out on Omega."

"That would've fun to see." Drakus chuckled.

"Yeah, I respectfully disagree with that." Ashley said walking over.

"What are your thoughts on this Williams?" Marcus asked.

"Do you mean your retirement or the Quarian people getting their past lives handed to them on a silver platter?" Ashley asked.

"You heard that didn't you?" Marcus asked and she nodded. "The second thing you said."

"I'm happy for them I guess but at the same time it puts things in perspective." Ashley mused.

"Everything we take for granted is gold to these people." Marcus added knowing where she was going with this.

"Got to wonder how many are thinking that this is too good to be true." Drakus mused.

"Probably the majority of the Quarian race." Ashley said. "I know I'd find it hard to believe in their shoes."

"I couldn't agree more, young lady." The three soldiers turned around and saw one of the admirals who were waiting in line.

"I'm sorry, who are you again?" Marcus asked.

"My apologies, I am Admiral **Daro'Xen vas Moreh." The three soldiers introduced themselves. "Whilst I do appreciate what this will mean to the Quarians this doesn't change the fact that the Geth should be returned to their rightful owners, the Quarians." Marcus' eyes narrowed.**

"**Is that so? The way I see this is that the Geth surrendering your homeworld is a peace offering, do you really want to throw that away by going to war with them?" Marcus asked his suspicions already rose.**

"**Don't insult me Marcus, I understand perfectly what's going on, but the Quarians built the Geth and the Geth should be back in our possession." Daro said.**

"**Are you even listening to yourself? The Reapers are coming and if the Quarians and the Geth go to war then you'll be easy pickings for when they arrive." Drakus said.**

"**Yes but what about after the Reaper war? They'll be no need for a Geth/Quarian alliance then." Daro said before walking off.**

"**And I thought Ciroah rubbed me the wrong way." Ashley said once the admiral was out of earshot.**

"Yeah, something tells me that she'll be a problem in the near future." Drakus agreed as he watched the line move forward.

"Forget about her, she's just the Quarian version of Udina if Udina got a sex change only she wants to enslave a race." Marcus dismissed.

"The Geth are AIS Marcus, can they really count as a race?" Ashley pointed out.

"Just look at Legion, he walks, talks, interacts, just like any other living being." Marcus said.

"Yeah, except for the fact that he's a machine." Drakus was quick to point out.

"Machines, living beings, look at Legion and tell me there's a difference." Marcus said folding his arms.

"Marcus, do us the supreme favour of saving us your philosophical bullshit." Drakus dismissed. "Legion maybe able to communicate with us but that doesn't mean he has a soul of something like that."

"Not the most religious person, are you Drakus?" Shepard asked walking over.

"Religion and the Krogan got together like Batarians on Earth, not counting Dsrondo." Drakus said folding his arms. "Sure, we have our rights but there's two main differences, 1: those are for things like the Right Of Passage, which you've experienced, and 2: they have more to do with proving a Krogan's strength than a Krogan's faith."

"I see, why where you three talking about that?" Shepard asked.

"We had an encounter with Admiral Dora." Ashley said and Shepard frowned.

"That's no big surprise, as you probably noticed she wants to control the Geth and I've instructed Sdres to keep an eye on her." Shepard said.

"With his size he technically keeps an eye on everyone." Drakus chuckled getting a laugh from the others.

"True enough." Shepard said when he got a message from Joker.

"Shepard, I've just seen several Cerberus ships approaching the Migrant Fleet." Shepard's eyes narrowed.

"What cell do they belong to?" Shepard asked thinking it was retaliation from the Human Galaxy cell.

"EDI'S searching for matches as we speak." Joker said and Shepard tapped his foot. "Commander, we've found a match and you're not going to like this."

"What is it?" Shepard asked.

"They match the Project Overlord cell." Joker said.


	44. Migrant Fleet Part 2

"Did you say Project Overlord? You can't be serious?" Shepard demanded, after hearing the news he had ordered the squad to separate themselves from the crowd save for Mordin and Mrejius who was still hard at work with the Quarians so that he could explain to them what Project Overlord was.

"Yeah, apparently they went on a recruiting spree after you gave David to the Grissom Academy, no idea what they want with the Fleet." Joker said.

"What is this Project Overlord anyway?" Drakus asked.

"After I was initially brought back from the dead I was contacted by the Illusive Man saying that another cell by the name of Project Overlord had went silent, I went to investigate alongside Garrus and Jacob and what I found disgusted me." Shepard frowned. "I was cut off from Jacob and Garrus and I eventually located Overlord, a Human/VII hybrid designed to control the Geth, turns out that the lead scientist forced his Autistic brother to undergo brutal experiments, I won't go into details but after I defeated the VI this is what was left of David." Shepard activated his onmi-tool and showed the crew the image.

"Jesus Christ." Marcus eventually said his disgust clear in his voice.

"The lead scientist begged me to hand David over to him claiming that he'd take care of him, instead I handed over David to the John Grissom Academy and I keep track of his progress every now and again, he's doing well and most importantly his brother was smart enough to say away from him." Shepard said.

"Apparently he wasn't smart enough to stay away from the Migrant Fleet." Tali said.

"You said the purpose of Overlord was to control the Geth, you think it has anything to do with that Admiral me, Drakus and Marcus talked too?" Ashley asked.

"Doubt it, Project Overlord was a Cerberus Project." Shepard said.

"Shit like that makes me wish I stayed with the Alliance." Jacob said shaking his head.

"Yeah, and it makes me wonder why I even agreed to help the Illusive Man." Shepard said as he heard screams coming from the meeting hall accompanied by gunfire. "Sdres, what's the situation?"

"Chaotic Commander, a small band of Cerberus operatives just stormed the hall." Sdres answered.

"Great, come on let's see what they want." Shepard said and he and his crew drew their weapons and approached the meeting hall, Mordin and Mrejius joined them their efforts with the Immune System cure delayed for the moment.

"You have a lot of nerve you boshtets!" Kal'Reager shouted drawing an assault rifle.

"Now, now, we're only here to advance Human interests." A voice that Shepard quickly recognised rang out.

"Dr. Gavin Archer." Shepard said his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, what is...oh shit." The scientist said when he saw Shepard.

"You know this guy?" Marcus asked.

"He's the lead scientist in Project Overlord, the same guy who subjected his brother to those experiments." Shepard said.

"You don't say." Drakus said glaring daggers at the scientist and marching forward.

"Oh for the love of...what the hell is a Krogan doing on the Migrant Fleet?" Archer wondered out loud.

"What I'm doing is kicking your ass." Drakus said firing a punch at Archer's nose breaking it, a Cerberus operative pointed his gun at Drakus but it was snatched away by Sdres. "You guys really don't want to know what that guy did to the last Cerberus operative he met."

"What do you mean?" Archer said.

"He ripped him in half, with his hands." Drakus said and Sdres looked confused.

"That wasn't..." Sdres quickly caught on when Drakus gave him a knowing look.

"Heh, I like this guy's style." Kal'Reager muttered to himself with a chuckle.

"Security, arrest that Krogan immediately!" Dora exclaimed.

"What did you just say? These men are attacking the fleet and you want ME arrested." Drakus said.

"I have to agree with the Krogan, this is very confusing." Admiral Quib-Quib said.

"Silence Quib-Quib!" Dora snapped.

"You have a ship called the Quib-Quib?" Drakus asked with amusement in his voice.

"Oh Keelah..." Tali muttered under her breath knowing that Drakus would be asking her about it later.

"As I was saying I invited these men aboard because we share the same goals, controlling the Geth." Dora said earning herself glares from the other admirals; this gave Drakus an idea,

"Shepard, why don't you tell them what Archer here got up to during his time with Cerberus." Drakus said kneeing the scientist in the groin.

"Are you sure Drakus?" Shepard asked.

"I'm as sure as Mordin is hyper." Drakus said.

"If you say so, as Dora already mentioned Dr. Archer and the other members of Project Overlord where looking for a way to control the Geth, only they forced Dr. Archer's Autistic brother to undergo brutal experiments and this was the end result." A shocked gasp filled the room as an image of David as Shepard found him showed.

"I had no choice; the Illusive Man was going to cut off my funding unless I found a solution." Dr. Archer started and Drakus glared at him.

"There's no excuse for the atrocity you committed." Drakus said coldly.

"It was to help preserve humanities future..." Dr. Archer started.

"Yeah, but it was at the expense of your own flesh and blood." Jenny cut him off clearly disgusted with the man in front of her.

"Forget my previous order; I regret ever meeting this monster." Dora said.

"Not that simple, you endangered the safety of the fleet." Raan said.

"So did Shepard when he brought that damn Geth aboard." Dora exclaimed.

"The first time I brought Legion to the fleet was so I could get a feel for his combat abilities; the second time was so that he could announce that the Geth are giving the Quarians there homeworld back." Shepard defended.

"He speaks the truth Dora." Raan said. "Your trial for treason is a matter for another day. Tell these men to leave the Migrant Fleet or we'll have the marines open fire." Raan said.

"No need, I know were we're not welcome." Archer said getting up but Shepard stopped him.

"Don't forget our deal, you go anywhere near David and I'll hunt you down and kill you." Shepard said.

"Of course Commander, but I want you to know that there isn't a day that goes by without me deeply regretting what I put my own brother through." Archer said.

"I hope you live with that for the rest of your life." Drakus said coldly as Archer and the other Cerberus operatives left.

"I'm sorry I had to show you all that but it was intended to show what kind of man the admiral had aligned herself with." Shepard said.

"We're understand Commander." Han'Gerrel said with a nod.

"Commander, we've talked to Legion and he has agreed to have the Geth extend the period needed from 24 hours to four weeks." Mrejius said.

"What's the cause for the extension?" Shepard asked folding his arms.

"There were several factors we didn't account for, Quarians on pilgrimage, exiled Quarians, the size of the Quarian population and the like." Mrejius said.

"Good to know, did you talk to the admirals?" Shepard asked.

"They did and quite frankly we're surprised we didn't pick up on that." Raan said.

"Don't worry; it happens to the best of us." Shepard said, just then an explosion rocked the Migrant Fleet.

"What the fuck was that?" Jenny wondered.

"Seemed like an explosion to me." Zach said.

"This isn't the time for smartass comments." Drakus scolded the young soldier.

"Joker, can you tell us what's going on?" Shepard asked.

"I'm just as confused as you are Commander, one minute everything's fine the next there's a huge explosion on the west end of the Migrant Fleet." Joker said and Tali panicked.

"Keelah, that's where we educate our children, Shepard we have to get down there!" Tali said.

"No need to tell me twice Tali, Drakus come with us." Shepard ordered.

"Right." Drakus nodded.

"The rest of you stay here, we have no idea if this is another attack by Cerberus and if it is I'll need you to back up the Quarians whilst we're gone." Shepard ordered.

"Understood Commander, we'll contact you if there are any attacks." Marcus nodded.

"I'm coming with you, I know the area..." Kal'Reager started.

"So does Tali." Drakus cut him off.

"Actually I don't, I've never been in that area, as an adult at least." Tali said.

"Okay Kal you're coming with us, be careful people we have no idea what the situation is over there." Shepard said leading Kal, Tali and Drakus to the source of the explosion.


	45. Migrant Fleet Part 3

"Keelah, what a mess this is." Tali said as they entered the now ruined education area, bits of rubble were spread around the area and she could even see some severed limbs.

"This is low, even for Cerberus." Drakus agreed.

"I'm not defending them but we don't even know if this was an accident so let's not jump on the Cerberus blame wagon just yet." Shepard said.

"If it is an accident then Cerberus has some REALLY bad timing." Drakus chuckled.

"No doubt about that." Kal'Reager agreed. "That image you showed the flotilla, is it safe to assume that it's real?" Kal asked Shepard.

"It is, Gavin's brother is receiving treatment at the John Grissom Academy as a result of the experiments though." Shepard said and Kal shook his head.

"Damn, as if I needed another reason to hate Cerberus." Kal said out loud.

"Come on, let's search for survivors." Shepard ordered leading the search party towards the wreckage.

"Shepard, I've been thinking about what's happened on the last couple of missions, mostly about how they have all seemed to involve your ex employer in some way." Drakus said after a few minutes of searching the wreckage.

"If you think that it's getting to the point that there's been to many encounters with them for it to be a coincidence then I agree." Shepard said and Drakus nodded.

"First we're ambushed on Noveria, and then we attack four Cerberus ships that are responsible for the plague on Tuchanka, and now they attack the Migrant Fleet, add the fact that a high level Alliance employee is a double agent for Cerberus and it seems to fit together in one nice package." Drakus said with a nod.

"Don't forget the Alliance bugs we found on the Normandy." Tali agreed.

"If this is a coincidence I'll eat Joker's hat." Shepard said.

"Great, thanks for that." Joker said over the intercom.

"Shepard, its Marcus, you where right about Cerberus, and they're back and they're with reinforcements." Marcus said over the earpiece.

"Are there any casualties?" Shepard asked.

"A couple of Quarians where hit but they weren't anticipating the Quarians having back up; right now it's an evenly matched firefight." Marcus said.

"Good, I don't care what they're plan is don't let them execute it." Shepard said. "Another thing, any sign of Archer?"

"Can't see him, either he ran away with his tail between his legs or he's hiding like the coward he is." Marcus said.

"We're still searching for survivors over here but as soon as we figure out what caused the explosion we'll be back." Shepard replied.

"Got it Commander, don't worry about us we've got it covered." Marcus said.

"It sounds like they're having fun over there." Kal'Reager muttered.

"And we'll join in later, for now let's focus on the task at hand." Shepard said.

"Shepard, Kal, over here." Drakus called them over to where he and Tali where standing, they walked over and saw another body but this time it was a human and most importantly the charred remains of the Cerberus logo was on his sleeve. "It looks like this was a suicide mission for these bastards."

"There's more bodies over there, all human and most importantly all Cerberus agents." Tali added.

"How did they get onto the Fleet, don't you need a passcode for that?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, though I'm not sure how..." Realization hit Tali like a ton of bricks. "Dora must've let them on board."

"How did she manage that?" Drakus asked.

"The Admirals are given their own unique codes that allow them access to any ship in the fleet; my guess is that Dora gave Archer her code during their brief alliance." Tali said. "She did worse than jeopardise the fleet Shepard, she outright let terrorists have their way with her own people."

"Will there be a trial if we can prove it?" Shepard asked.

"In this severe a case they'll skip the whole trial and outright exile her, stripping her of her Admiral Rank and disabling her code in the process. Pretty much what my father would've gone through if he survived the attack on the Alleri." Tali answered.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Drakus said dragging a Cerberus operative from some nearby rubble.

"Stay away from me beast." The operative demanded but got the wind knocked out of him when Drakus pressed down hard upon his chest with his boot, given how big Drakus was it wasn't long before the operative was gasping for air.

"Watch your tone human and maybe I'll let you live." Drakus warned getting his shotgun out.

"What the hell do you want with me?" The operative gasped once Drakus removed his boot.

"We want information." Shepard said walking up. "If you know what's good for you'll give it to us." The operative's eyes widened.

"SHEPARD? Shit no one said you'd be here." The operative said getting to his feet.

"Yeah, it seems I can't get rid of Cerberus recently." Shepard said grabbing the man by the collar. "Who gave you access to the Migrant Fleet?"

"You think I'm stupid? I'd sooner die." The operative said.

"You don't say, I can personally think of many, many ways I can make your death as slow and painful as possible." Drakus said.

"Drakus is starting to scare me." Kal'Reager whispered to Tali.

"Starting to?" Tali teased.

"Fine, Archer was given the Codes for the fleet by Admiral Dora, the first attack was to serve as a distraction whilst we hit them where it hurt the most, and we were told it was a suicide mission due to the bomb's short fuse but I guess I proved them wrong." The Cerberus agent said cockily.

"Tali, did you record all of that?" Shepard asked Tali.

"I did Shepard." Tali replied.

"So can I go?" The operative said as he went to leave only to get the butt of Drakus' rifle jammed into his face breaking his jaw and knocking several teeth out.

"You expect us to let you go after killing so many children? Drakus said coldly.

"Children? They where aliens, hardly worth the time and effort..." Tali had heard enough and castrated the operative with her shotgun before decapitating him with a shotgun blast.

"Has Jenny been giving you pointers?" Drakus asked.

"Nah, he just pissed me off." Tali said getting surprised looks from the three males. "What?"

"Oh, nothing, just the fact that you just swore, that's what." Drakus said surprised.

"Huh, guess I am spending too much time with Jenny." Tali shrugged.

"Come on, let's rejoin the others." Shepard said as they walked off, another Cerberus operative, a female one, emerged from another pile of rubble and tried to shoot Shepard but Shepard saw her first and put a bullet between her eyes.

"Did see seriously think that'll work?" Drakus wondered outloud.

"I'll give her an A for effort." Kal'Reager shrugged, they continued on their path and eventually returned to the meeting hall and found that the Cerberus operatives where retreating.

"Defeated them before we could join in the fun I see." Shepard observed.

"It was a good fight battlemaster." Grunt said with a nod.

"Yeah, it was evenly matched like I said but towards the end and once the element of surprise had worn off they were forced to retreat due to superior firepower and manpower." Marcus said.

"Are there any injuries?" Tali asked.

"Nothing severe, Jenny took one to the shoulder; Zach's cheek was grazed by the bullet that hit Jenny, any resident female Spectre agents caught bullets to the stomach and lower back, they're being treeted alongside the Quarians that where hit." Marcus explained.

"Good to know, where's Dora?" Shepard asked.

"She's with the Admirals who all managed to escape unharmed." Marcus said pointing to the podium.

"Good, admirals, can I have your attention?" Shepard asked turning to them.

"Of course Shepard, what is it?" Raan asked.

"I request, no strongly advise, that you exile Admiral Dora on the spot." Shepard said as shocked gasps filled the room.

"This is outrageous!" Dora exclaimed.

"Tali play the recording." Shepard ordered ignoring the outburst.

"My pleasure, Commander." Tali said playing the recording, as the voice of the now deceased Cerberus operative rang out throughout the hall eyes fell upon Dora who clearly panicking.

"You had the nerve to be the one to suggest trying Tali for Treason when you where the one betraying us all along." Admiral Qwib-Qwib eventually said.

"I can explain..." Dora started.

"No need, you are hereby exiled and your admiral status revoked alongside your passcode." Raan said glaring at the now former admiral.

"You are making a mistake," Dora exclaimed as several security guards escorted her away.

"Looks like you need two more admirals." Shepard observed.

"Indeed Commander." Raan agreed. "We have several candidates in mind already for Real's spot so it shouldn't be too difficult."

"I'm hope you find suitable replacements." Shepard said.

"Indeed, what's the next step for you Commander?" Raan asked.

"We'll be staying here for a few weeks whilst Mordin and Mrejius finish their work, we'll mostly be staying on the Normandy anyway." Shepard said.

"Shepard, I've got an urgent message from Anderson, he's asking you to contact him as soon as possible." Joker said over the earpiece.

"Thanks Joker, I'll get in contact with him soon." Shepard said. "When we're done here set a course for Wreckasia in the Hawking ETA Cluster."

"I will do Commander." Joker said.

"There's one more thing." Shepard said turning to the Admirals. "Before starting the restoration process send a small squad of Marines into the bombed area, we have no idea how many Cerberus operatives survived the explosion."

"A wise precaution Commander, we'll send them in immediately." Raan said and Shepard nodded.

"Thanks, I trust I can rely on the Migrant Fleet's assistance in the Reaper War?" Shepard asked.

"You have our guaranteed assistance." Raan said.

"Good to know, if anyone needs me they can contact me on the Normandy SR2." Shepard said leaving the hall.


	46. First Wave

"Commander, I see you got my message." Anderson said as he paced back and forth in the Human Embassy, Shepard was still at the Migrant Fleet's location and had waited until now to contact him which was four weeks away from the visit to the Migrant Fleet, the sweep for survivors of the explosion belonging to Cerberus was complete and only two other operatives survived the explosion and they were quickly dealt with, the injured crewmembers were being treated by Dr. Chakwas in the medbay and with the inmune system boosters installed Mrejius and Mordin where back on the ship.

"Sorry for the delay, we have the Quarian's assistance in the Reaper War and that's what matters." Shepard said.

"That's understandable Commander, I've been bogged down in meetings for the past few weeks anyway so you wouldn't have been able to contact me when I sent the message." Anderson answered.

"What was so urgent then?" Shepard asked.

"We've found out the identity of the double agent, he's being charged for Treason as we speak." Anderson commented.

"Anyone I know?" Shepard asked.

"I believe so, Admiral Mikhailovich." Anderson said and Shepard blinked.

"I remember him; he tried to inspect the Normandy after I originally recruited Liara." Shepard remembered.

"We've suspected him as a double agent for quite some time now." Anderson said with a nod. "He's also confessed to ordering the bugs aboard the Normandy."

"Had a feeling that the two of those events where connected." Shepard said.

"But there's more, he isn't the only double agent, he was working alongside Udina as well." Anderson said and Shepard nodded.

"I suspected that he was a double agent." Shepard agreed.

"Yes but he's agreed to testify against Admiral Mikhailovich in exchange for a lesser sentence." Anderson said.

"So who's going to be your assistant now?" Shepard asked.

"I have a few candidates in mind, the other council members where kind enough to suggest some potential assistants as well." Anderson said.

"Good to know, any news on the Reaper front?" Shepard asked and Anderson shook his head.

"No news so far, Liara's an information broker nowadays isn't see?" Anderson asked and Shepard nodded. "Ask her to have her contacts keep her informed of any developments in the Reaper front."

"Good idea, I'll ask her ASAP." Shepard answered.

"What's your next step?" Anderson asked.

"I'm heading to the planet Wreckassia in the Hawking ETA Cluster to investigate a derelict Reaper, according to my sources it could hold the secret to the cycle of extinction." Anderson's eyes widened at that.

"Every time I think you can't pull of any impossible stunts you seem to outdo yourself." Anderson chuckled.

"What can you tell me about the planet?" Shepard asked.

"Not much, it's a planet in a recently discovered cluster of planets in the Hawking ETA system that hasn't been added to the Star Charts yet, all I know is that it's been described as a Large Garden World." Anderson said.

"I already knew that but thanks for the information." Shepard said.

"Anytime Commander." Anderson replied cutting the connection, Shepard looked around the conference room and saw that everyone saved for the injured was looking at him surprised.

"Did you say the secret to the Cycle of Extinction? Anderson's right, you may as well add "pulling off the imposable" to your list of hobbies!" Garrus joked.

"I'll get in contact with my contacts immediately Shepard." Liara said almost immediately.

"Good to know, let me know as soon as you find anything out." Shepard ordered.

"Of course Commander." Liara nodded before leaving the conference room.

"That's all, dismissed." Shepard dismissed the others and they left and he went to check on the injured.

"Commander, something I can do for you?" Chakwas asked.

"I'm just checking on the ones that were injured during the firefight on the Flotilla." Shepard said.

"Like Marcus said the injuries are nothing to severe, Tidoses and Ciroah suffered the worst damage but all the same I expect a full recovery from everyone." Chakwas said.

"Thanks, keep my notified of any developments." Shepard ordered.

"I will Commander, soon as they are ready for action you'll be the first to know." Chakwas said.

"Oh come on, I'm not hurt that badly!" Zach's voice rang out from behind Chakwas.

"Even so young man it's better to get it treated then risk an infection." Chakwas said briefly turning to Zach.

"Yes mum." Shepard could hear Zach mutter under his breath.

"And I'll have less of your smartass comments thank you very much." Chakwas snapped back. "Don't mind him Commander; he's been trying to tough out his injury since returning to the Normandy."

"Is Jenny trying the same thing?" Shepard asked.

"Considering I'm the smart McKansa sibling, what do you think?" Jenny replied.

"I'll take that as a no then?" Shepard asked.

"What was your first guess?" Jenny said and Chakwas shook her head.

"There constant bickering has been giving me a headache." Chakwas said.

"Want me to tell them to knock it off?" Shepard asked.

"No, I'd be bored if they did." Chakwas shook her head with a chuckle.

"Well, If you say so." Shepard shrugged leaving the medbay and saw Dsrondo and Marcus talking at the mess hall table, he didn't pay attention to it at first but that was before Marcus brought up his retirement.

"You want to retire after all of this is done?" Dsrondo asked surprised.

"Part of the reason I joined the Alliance was to see everything the Universe has to offer, and I feel like I've done just that." Marcus replied.

"I can't argue with that." Dsrondo shrugged.

"That and I've lived a long life by human standards and I'll have a nice retirement package for my long service." Marcus added.

"Not to be a downer but that's if you survive the Reaper war." Shepard chimed in.

"And I'm fully prepared for when that happens." Marcus said. "I've saved up a nice little nest egg over the years." Marcus noticed Dsrondo's confused look. "Human term that means life savings, I've already drawn up my will with the assistance of Kate McKansa's lawyer and in the event of my death that money will go to Tyson."

"You've been planning this for a long time." Shepard commented.

"I've had a long time to plan it." Marcus said.

"Isn't that lawyer a criminal defence lawyer?" Shepard asked.

"Actually she's what humans would call a jack of all trades." Garrus said walking up. "Criminal defence is just one of the areas that she specializes in."

"I've been meaning to ask how you met that lawyer Garrus." Shepard realized.

"I met her whilst I was still working with C-Sec, she was representing a millionaire Volus accused of Fraud and embezzling, she lost the case but we formed a strong friendship out of mutual respect." Garrus explained.

"Commander, Joker here, got a message from the Citadel Council, a Reaper's been sighted." Shepard's eyes widened.

"What system?" Shepard asked.

"This is where things get complicated; the Reaper in question was sighted in the Sol Cluster." Joker said and Shepard's eyes widened even further.

"Are there any casualties?" Shepard asked.

"None so far and if we want to prevent any casualties we need to get there ASAP!" Joker said.

"We had to test out the Reaper Destroyer at some point; Joker set a course for the Sol cluster." Shepard ordered.

"We're already on our way Commander." Joker said.

"Let me know when you see the Reaper, I intend to send the Reaper fleet a powerful message." Shepard said.

"Say no more Shepard." Joker said.

"It was a matter of time before the Reapers arrived." Marcus commented.

""And it was a matter of time before we got to kick there asses!" Dsrondo said before pausing. "Wait, do Reapers even have asses?"

"That's the sort of question I'd expect from either of the McKansa siblings." Shepard commented.

"True, but this is one fight I'm looking forward too," Dsrondo said with a grin.

"I couldn't agree more." Shepard agreed.

"We've entered the Local Cluster Commander, searching for the Reaper now." Joker said.

"I'm on my way up." Shepard announced before heading to the elevator and going up to the CIC.


	47. Gatekeeper

Author's note: Wow, it's been a while huh.

Yeah I don't really know what kept me from updating this thing but it's back on track and hopefully I'll finish it, for first time readers this was written prior to Lair Of The Shadow Broker's release so if you haven't played it for any reason I won't spoil it.

Also a bit of a cheap plug but what the hell? A fellow fic writer is using a handful of my characters in his fanfic Mass Vexations 2, his profile can be found here .net/u/974987/Herr_Wozzeck whilst the fic it's self can be found .net/s/6228253/1/Mass_Vexations_2 here, with that on with the long overdue 47th chapter.

Shepard stormed up to the cockpit of the Normandy SR2, the Reaper was near and he wanted to see the destruction caused by the Reaper Destroyer for himself.

"Joker, status report." Shepard ordered.

"Single and still looking." Joker joked and Shepard rolled his eyes.

"You know that wasn't what I meant, any sign of the Reaper?" Shepard said annoyed.

"No sign yet commander, but it should be a matter of time before we come into contact with the Reaper." Joker said.

"EDI, any damage reports from the planets?" Shepard asks turning his head towards the AI'S Avatar.

"None so far Shepard but given the grave danger that the Reaper brings with it I suggest dealing with it swiftly." EDI answered.

"That's why we've got the Reaper Destroyer, you know provided it works." Joker said just as the sound of heavy footsteps could be heard walking in their direction, Shepard looked up and saw Drakus and Grunt behind them.

"Nice to know you've got faith in our weapons system Joker." Drakus said bluntly.

"An untested weapons system." Joker was quick to point out. "Why are you two up here anyway?"

"Why don't you ask them?" Drakus asks and Shepard looks behind the two Krogan and sees the rest of the crew, including the injured.

"Not even injuries could keep you guys away huh?" Shepard asks.

"What gave you that idea Commander?" Zach asks rhetorically.

"We want to see the destruction of the Reaper for ourselves Commander; you'd be hard pressed to find something that'll keep us away." Tidoses added.

"Fine but as soon as the Reaper is destroyed the injured will return to the medbay." Shepard ordered and the injured crew members groaned, before Shepard could say anything else a booming voice came from out of nowhere.

"**FOOLISH MORTALS! YOUR DEATHS ARE INEVITABLE!" **The voice rang out.

"Five credits say that's the Reaper!" Joker called out.

"You're on." Dsrondo called out.

"Who are you?" Shepard asks the voice knowing that it wasn't Harbinger, his voice was far deeper.

"**I AM THE BRINGER OF YOUR DESTRUCTION! I AM THE GATEKEEPER OF YOUR ANIHILATION!" **The Reaper answered.

"We've got a visual on the Reaper Commander, seems to be making it's rounds around Jupiter." Joker said. "Man that thing is massive; it's got to be twice the size of Sovereign easily."

"Wait until it's clear of the planets before firing, we don't want to risk any civilian casualties." Shepard ordered.

"Got it Commander." Joker nodded typing in commands. "Okay it's clear of the planets, firing the Reaper Destroyer now." Joker said. "Hold on people, this thing is untested." Joker said and everyone grabbed onto something that was bolted down, soon as that was done Joker fired the weapon.

"**FOOLS! YOU MAY DEFEAT ME BUT OTHERS WILL COME! IN TWO WEEKS THE CYCLE CONTINUES!"** Gatekeeper said before the Reaper Destroyer hit the Reaper and it's remains plummeted into the Sun.

"Am I the only one that thinks that was too easy?" Jenny asks.

"I was thinking the same thing." Shepard nodded. "The Reaper called it's self "Gatekeeper", and it said that the Reapers where coming in two weeks, we need to be prepared before then." Shepard said.

"We've got the Reaper Destroyer, that's all the preparation we need!" Drakus said bluntly.

"Maybe not, the Destroyer nearly drained our power supply; we need to dock for at least two days before we move on to Wreckassia." Joker said.

"Think you can get us to the Citadel?" Shepard asks.

"No, our best bet will be Earth." Joker said as he started preparing the ship for landing. "I take it you wanted to tell the council about this?"

"Yeah but I can send them a message all the same." Shepard nodded. "Take us to Earth Joker, don't care were on the planet as long as it's got as it's got a spaceport."

"Got it Commander." Joker nodded.


	48. Chapter 48

Well I'd never thought I'd say this about Mass Effect Fighting off the Reapers, but I'll be deleting the fic soon.

Why? Because I'll be redoing it with the help of a friend so that I can correct several mistakes I felt I made during the writing process for the fic and to also make it more up to date given the DLC that was released for ME2 since its release and what we know (so far) about ME3, also since Paul Greyson died in Mass Effect Retribution (if I spoiled it for anyone I apologize) Paul Greyson won't be appearing in the fic.

I know this fanfic has a lot of fans and believe me I appreciate the support and I can only hope that the redone version of Fighting of the Reapers gets just as much fans.


End file.
